Dive Brief:

• Midland, Michigan-based Dow tapped Jeffrey Tate, a former finance executive at the global chemical giant, to replace its retiring CFO, according to a Tuesday release.

• Effective Nov. 1, Tate will succeed Dow CFO Howard Ungerleider, who is retiring after 33 years of service at the company. Tate previously served at Dow for 27 years, including as vice president of finance for the company’s packaging and specialty plastics unit. He most recently served as CFO of Leggett & Platt, a supplier of engineered components for products across various markets.

• "We are excited to have Jeff back at Dow where his demonstrated track record of financial acumen, and his newly gained external perspectives will serve him and Dow well going forward,” Jim Fitterling, Dow's chair and CEO, said in the release.

Dive Insight:

Tate, 54, will receive an annual base salary of $895,000 and will be eligible to participate in Dow’s annual cash incentive program with a target award of 110% of his base salary, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Tate rejoins Dow following his stint as CFO of Leggett & Platt from September 2019 through June 2023. Prior to that, he served as vice president of finance for packaging and specialty plastics at Dow for about two years. His other prior roles at Dow include chief audit executive leading the company’s global internal audit and investigation activities, as well as director of investor relations.

The announcement coincided with the release of Dow’s third quarter earnings results. The company reported net sales of $10.7 billion, down 24% versus the year-ago period, reflecting declines across all its operating segments due to slower global macroeconomic activity.

“We expect the challenging macroeconomic dynamics to continue through the fourth quarter, including sluggish industrial activity,” Ungerleider said during a Tuesday earnings call.

Ungerleider said it was the right moment for him to retire after serving at Dow for more than three decades. His career at the company has spanned a wide variety of commercial, business, financial, geographic, functional and enterprise-level leadership roles globally, including executive vice president of the Advanced Materials Division; president of the Performance Plastics Division; vice president of investor relations; and North American commercial vice president for basic plastics, according to the Tuesday release.

He will officially retire in January and will work with Tate in the meantime to ensure a smooth transition, the release said.