download photo (ZIP, 189KB) >
Fred E. Festa
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer
W. R. Grace & Co.
Fred Festa is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of W. R. Grace & Co. A seasoned executive with
leadership experiences at Fortune 100 companies as well as start-up/venture businesses, Fred is the
8th chief executive to lead the company in more than 158 years of Grace history.
Fred joined Grace as President and Chief Operating Officer in November 2003, assumed the CEO
responsibilities in June 2005 and was named Chairman of the Board in January 2008. He was President
from November 2003 to November 2011.
Fred has championed the transformation of Grace into a fully-integrated operating company. Under
his leadership, the company’s revenue grew 60%, from $2 billion in 2003 to $3.2 billion in 2011 [6.1% CAGR].
Despite operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a challenging global economic environment,
Grace has completed dozens of strategic acquisitions, joint ventures and business partnerships that have
enhanced its standing as a premier global specialty chemicals and materials company.
A strong believer in Lean, Six Sigma and continuous improvement, Fred has spearheaded intensified
productivity efforts at Grace that delivered cost savings and revenue enhancements of $155 million in
2011. He created the Grace Research Council to oversee greater R&D collaboration, generating an active
innovation pipeline. Products introduced in the past five years delivered around one third of Grace’s
annual revenues in 2011.
Fred came to Grace from Morgenthaler Private Equity Partners, an $850 million venture/buyout firm
focused on mid-market industrial build ups, where he had been a partner since November 2002.
From 2000 to 2002, Fred was President and CEO of ICG Commerce, a 450-person, privately held company
offering online procurement services.
His strong knowledge of manufacturing was established during a seven-year tenure, from 1993 to 2000, at
AlliedSignal, Inc. (now Honeywell). He worked at the company’s specialty chemical, polymer, chemical
intermediaries and fibers businesses in a series of increasingly responsible positions in general management,
business development and finance. Most recently, he served as Vice President and General Manager of
AlliedSignal’s performance fibers business, from 1998 to 2000.
Fred began his career at General Electric (GE), where he spent 12 years in financial management
positions at five of the company’s business units. While there, he completed GE’s Financial Management
Training Program and its benchmark General Management Course.
Fred graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from SUNY
(State University of New York) Oswego. He became an independent director of NVR, one of the largest home
builders in the United States, in 2008.
Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts; engineered and packaging materials; and, specialty
construction chemicals and building materials. The company’s three industry-leading business segments-Grace
Catalysts Technologies, Grace Materials Technologies and Grace Construction Products-provide innovative
products, technologies and services that enhance the quality of life. Grace employs approximately 6,000
people in over 40 countries and had 2011 net sales of $3.2 billion. More information about Grace is
available at www.grace.com.
September 2012
Corporate Communications
W. R. Grace & Co.
7500 Grace Drive
Columbia, MD 21044, USA
+1 410.531.4000
|
Use of Grace Images by Journalists and Press
Agencies
W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. (“Grace”) is willing to make available electronic file
downloads containing one or more IMAGES that provide a glimpse at the global
presence of Grace, a premier specialty chemical and materials company. However,
misuse of the IMAGES by others may lead to confusion in the market place and may
damage Grace in some manner. Therefore, to ensure that the IMAGES are used
correctly for legitimate purposes, downloading and use of these IMAGE files is
conditioned upon acceptance of the following license:
By downloading one or more IMAGES available on this site you agree to the
following terms:
If you are downloading one or more IMAGES from this web site on behalf of your
employer, the terms and conditions recited herein apply to your employer as a
Licensee as well as to you as a representative of your employer. Should you
cease working for your employer, you will no longer be entitled to use the
IMAGE(S), but your employer will continue to be the license holder. If you have
no employer, the terms and conditions of recited herein refer to you the user as
Licensee.
The term IMAGE shall mean any still image, film or video footage, audio product,
visual representation generated optically, electronically, digitally or by any
other means, including any negatives, transparencies, film imprints, prints and
original digital files.
1. Subject to all the terms listed below, Grace grants to Licensee, a limited,
non-exclusive right to download certain IMAGES made available by Grace for the
purpose of identifying Grace in connection with legitimate news reporting by
Licensee and its journalists in traditional print media, on television and on
the Web (“News Reporting”). As Licensee you warrant that you are a journalist or
work for a news agency. Licensee will not use the IMAGES for any purpose or
activity other than those expressly stated above, and will never use the IMAGES
on or in connection with advertising, marketing, promoting or distributing goods
or services, including books. The forgoing license does not include any rights
or license to use any name or mark included in the IMAGES.
2. Licensee will not alter or modify the IMAGES, their files, any names or marks
in the IMAGES of Grace or its related entities, or combine the IMAGES with other
marks, names, images or text.
3. Licensee will not transfer or permit to be transferred copies of the
downloaded IMAGES to anyone other than Licensee.
4. Licensee will not make any use of the IMAGES of Grace or its related entities
in a manner that will damage Grace or its related companies and that does not
create a sense of endorsement or sponsorship by, or false association with
Grace.
5. Licensee may not place the IMAGE online in a downloadable format, post the
IMAGE on any electronic bulletin board or online service, or use the IMAGE in a
web site at a resolution higher than 72 dpi. For example, the IMAGE may be used
as part of a web site design, but it must not be downloadable separately or
stored in any way for re-use by web site users.
6. Licensee may not include the IMAGE in any template or application, whether
web-based or not, with the purpose to create multiple impressions of a product.
This includes, for instance, e-cards, business cards or any other electronic or
printed matter.
7. Licensee may not use the IMAGE for commercial products (for example
calendars, T-Shirts).
8. Licensee may not rent, lease, sublicense, give, lend, further distribute or
grant any rights to the IMAGE, or any compilation or derivative work containing
the IMAGE, to any third party without prior written consent of Licensor.
9. Any use of Grace IMAGES that does not comply with the terms of this license
is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate termination of this license
without notice, and misuse could result in legal action against you. Upon
termination of the license, Licensee will immediately cease all use of Grace
Images and any files derived from them, and where practicable withdraw and
destroy any materials in which the IMAGES have been used.
10. This license is personal to Licensee, and may not be assigned, sublicensed
or transferred by Licensee. This license will be interpreted according to the
laws of the state of Maryland and the United States, as a contract made and
performed within the State of Maryland.
11. GRACE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, REGARDING THE IMAGES.
LICENSEE WILL INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS GRACE, ITS RELATED ENTITIES, AND THEIR
RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES AND REPRESENTATIVES, FROM ALL
LIABILITY, CLAIMS, LOSSES, AND COSTS ARISING FROM OR CAUSED BY LICENSEE’S USE OF
THE IMAGES.
The IMAGES may be downloaded by clicking on the “I Accept” button to agree to
the terms and conditions of this license, then clicking on the “Download Image”
button. Your download will then begin momentarily.
By accepting this license, you, the person downloading the IMAGES, warrant that
you have read the terms and conditions of the license, that the IMAGES are being
downloaded solely for purposes of using them as permitted by this license for
news reporting, and that you are authorized to accept this license on behalf of
the Licensee. If you do not agree to the foregoing license, including all of its
terms and conditions, you are prohibited from downloading any IMAGES from this
web site.
|