Dow Chemical : Names Paula Tolliver Corporate Vice President of Business Services and Chief Information Officer

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) announced today that Paula Tolliver, corporate vice president of Business Services and Information Systems, has been named corporate vice president of Business Services and chief information officer (CIO). As CIO, Tolliver succeeds Dave Kepler, who has announced his retirement from Dow after 39 years with the Company.

Tolliver's proven leadership and track record for driving business results positions her well to drive Dow's strategic vision for leveraging IT and analytics in innovative ways to deliver competitive advantage. Under Tolliver's leadership, Dow has been able to transform Business Services value delivery and innovation with significant advancements in Procurement strategic sourcing capabilities, Advanced Analytics, market-facing business IT solutions, workplace services, business process improvements, and automation. At the same time, Business Services has experienced double digit improvements in productivity.

In 1986, Tolliver joined Dow in the corporate Information Systems group in Midland, Michigan. After progressive leadership roles with that group, she moved to Human Resources in 1990 where she was instrumental in the startup of the Dow Elanco joint venture, which later became Dow AgroSciences. She held a number of leadership roles in Dow AgroSciences in Indianapolis, Indiana, before moving to France in 1996 to lead the Europe Information Systems group. In 2000, Tolliver was named global Business Information Systems Director for Dow AgroSciences as well as a member of its Corporate Management Committee.

Tolliver joined Dow Purchasing in 2006, serving as global director of Strategic Sourcing for Dow, driving global sourcing strategies and supplier relationships for Raw Materials, External Manufacturing, Global Trading and Corporate Services. In 2009, she was named vice president of Purchasing, leading the Purchasing Strategy Board, overseeing purchasing operations, and managing more than $24 billion in spending globally. She assumed her role as corporate vice president of Business Services and Information Systems for Dow in August 2011.

Tolliver holds a bachelor's degree in business information systems and computer science from Ohio University. She has also attended the Babson College Executive Education Program.