Gregory E. Poling

Greg Poling is Vice President of W. R. Grace & Co. and President of Grace Davison. He has worked at Grace for more than 30 years on many of the company’s products, including cement, concrete, masonry and silica.

During his tenure, Greg has held positions in sales, marketing, business development, technical services, manufacturing and operations. He has overseen dozens of acquisitions as well as joint ventures and business restructurings that have broadened Grace’s portfolio, technological capabilities and global presence.

With a strong emphasis on technological innovation, Greg uses disciplined processes to accelerate product development and commercialization. In addition, he is responsible for forming an incubator group that helps create an entrepreneurial-like environment to launch products in new segments. Grace’s approach to the renewable fuels industry is a result of this initiative. Also under his leadership, Grace has established a strong foundation for future success in emerging growth regions.

Greg holds a tremendous amount of knowledge about Grace. He joined the company in 1977 shortly after his college graduation and has earned seven senior level promotions. Earlier in his career, he was General Manager of Grace’s specialty vermiculite unit (1986), followed by responsibilities as Director of Marketing for cement and concrete products worldwide (1993) where he was instrumental in acquiring and successfully integrating Cormix Construction Chemicals. The transaction allowed Grace to expand market penetration in the United Kingdom, Middle East and Asia. He was promoted to Vice President and General Manager for concrete products (1995) where he oversaw an increase in revenues of nearly 30% before being named Vice President and General Manager of Grace Construction Products’ worldwide cement, concrete and masonry products (1998). In that position, he had responsibility for strategic development, as well as sales, technical service and manufacturing operations.

In 1999, Greg was appointed to Vice President and General Manager of Grace Davison’s silica products worldwide and in 2003, named President of Davison Chemicals’ specialty materials business. In this role, he was instrumental in the creation of Grace’s current Grace Davison Discovery Sciences product line through a series of acquisitions and internal growth. The product line’s formation extended Grace’s 80 years of silica material and surface chemistry science expertise to the pharmaceutical, life sciences, environmental and biotech industries, among others.

In 2005, Greg was appointed to his current position where he has responsibility for Grace Davison’s global operations and oversees Advanced Refining Technologies LLC, Grace’s joint venture with Chevron Products Company. Revenues for Grace Davison have grown from $1.4 billion in 2005 to $2.2 billion in 2008 since Greg was named President.

Greg graduated from Denison University with a B.S. degree in History and has completed the MIT Sloan School of Management executive program and the Babson College entrepreneurial management program. He has served on the Board of Directors for Foamex Innovations, a privately-held producer of foam products for the healthcare, home, electronics, industrial, personal care and transportation industries.

Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and other products to petroleum refiners; catalysts for the manufacture of plastics; silica-based engineered and specialty materials for a wide range of industrial applications; sealants and coatings for food and beverage packaging, and specialty chemicals, additives and building materials for commercial and residential construction. Founded in 1854, Grace has operations in over 40 countries.

October 2009
Corporate Communications
W. R. Grace & Co.
7500 Grace Drive
Columbia, MD 21044
+1 410.531.4000