BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --  Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals industry, announced that Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate & Government Affairs, and Corporate Secretary Karen G. Narwold has been selected as a member of the 2015 DirectWomen Board Institute class. 

"On behalf of the entire Albemarle family, I congratulate Karen on being selected as a member of the DirectWomen Board Institute's 2015 class," said Luke Kissam, chief executive officer and president of Albemarle.  "Karen has served as an invaluable member of Albemarle's executive leadership team for 4 years.  She works with tireless pursuit of excellence in all that she does, and her aptitude for learning our businesses and her capacity to contribute continuously impresses me, our team and our Board of Directors.  I believe Karen is uniquely qualified to serve on a public company board."

With over 20 years of experience with industrial and chemical companies, Mrs. Narwold has an extensive background in managing significant transactions, commercial matters and compliance issues and working with various boards of directors to ensure success for each company.  After practicing private law for five years, Mrs. Narwold held positions with GrafTech International Ltd., a global graphite and carbon manufacturer and former subsidiary of Union Carbide, and Barzel Industries, a North American steel processor and distributor.  Prior to joining Albemarle in 2010, she served as special counsel with Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and with Symmetry Advisors where she worked in the areas of strategic, financial and capital structure planning and restructuring for public and private companies.

DirectWomen selects a group of experienced and accomplished women lawyers from a highly competitive pool of applicants across the country to attend the Board Institute. The Institute covers key issues facing current and future corporate directors and provides an opportunity for class members to interact with leading executives, directors, search firm consultants, and Institute alumnae.  The 2015 DirectWomen class is comprised of an outstanding group of leading women lawyers, including

General Counsel of Fortune 500 companies, as well as partners at top law firms.

About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its two global business units: Performance Chemicals and Catalyst Solutions. Corporate Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for 2010, 2011 and 2013.  Albemarle employs approximately 3,200 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings, and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets we serve.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation

Albemarle Media Contact, Ashley Mendoza, (225) 388-7137, Ashley.Mendoza@albemarle.com; or Albemarle Investor Relations Contact: Lorin Crenshaw, (225) 388-7322, Lorin.Crenshaw@albemarle.com

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