Press Release
George B. Gregory Named
New CEO at Kraton Polymers
HOUSTON (July 6, 2004) — The Board of Directors of Kraton Polymers has appointed one of its members, George B. Gregory, as Chief Executive Officer of Kraton Polymers, effective July 6, 2004. Gregory succeeds Stephen M. Wood, who is transitioning from CEO to the role of Vice Chairman. Private investment firms Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., purchased Kraton Polymers from Ripplewood Holdings LLC in December 2003.
Gregory comes to Kraton Polymers from KoSa, one of the world’s largest producers of polyester resins, fibers and intermediates, where he served as Chief Executive Officer and President. While there, he spearheaded the transformation of KoSa into a standalone, low-cost, entrepreneurial leader in its industry. KoSa’s revenues exceeded $2 billion in 2003, with 15 plants in five countries and more than 6,000 employees. Gregory left KoSa in April 2004 when the firm merged with Invista and relocated its headquarters to Wichita, Kansas. Earlier, Gregory held various positions at Koch Industries, Inc., Monitor Company and DuPont. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in chemistry from Harvard College.
TPG Partner and Board Chairman Kelvin Davis said, “George brings unique experience and knowledge of this industry and we are excited to have the opportunity to work with him as we continue to expand the Kraton Polymers franchise. We are grateful to Steve for his work in making this a world-class company and are pleased that he will continue to contribute to the company during the transition.”
Timothy Walsh, Partner at JPMorgan Partners said, “We look forward to working with George and the Kraton Polymers management team and capitalizing on his deep industry expertise to help Kraton Polymers extend its leadership position in the marketplace. We also want to thank Steve for his dedication and continued service to the company,” Walsh said.
George Gregory said, “I look forward to working with the Kraton Polymers team to build on its past success and move toward the next stage of achievement. As a member of the board, I have been very impressed with the talent and dedication of Kraton Polymers’ employees and with the outstanding product and service portfolio that has allowed the company to maintain its global leadership in the industry for more than four decades.”
About Texas Pacific Group
Texas Pacific Group, founded in 1993 and based in Fort Worth, San Francisco and London, is a private investment partnership managing over US $13 billion in assets. TPG seeks to invest in world-class franchises across a range of industries, including significant investments in healthcare companies (Oxford Health Plans, Quintiles Transnational), leading retailers (Petco, J.Crew, Debenhams-UK), branded consumer franchises (Burger King, Del Monte, Ducati), technology companies (ON Semiconductor, MEMC, Seagate) airlines (Continental, America West) and chemical companies (Kraton Polymers).
About JP Morgan Partners
JPMorgan Partners (JPMP) is a global partnership with approximately $18 billion in capital under management (as of March 31, 2004). It is a leading provider of private equity and has closed over 1,300 individual transactions since its inception in 1984. JPMP has approximately 130 investment professionals in nine principal offices throughout the world. JPMorgan Partners is the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), one of the largest financial institutions in the United States. For additional information, please visit our website at www.jpmorganpartners.com.
About Kraton
Kraton Polymers LLC is a premier, global specialty chemicals company and is the world’s largest producer of styrenic block copolymers (“SBCs”), a family of products whose chemistry was pioneered by Kraton over forty years ago. SBCs are highly-engineered synthetic elastomers, which enhance the performance of products by delivering a variety of attributes, including greater flexibility, resilience, strength, durability and processability. Kraton polymers are used in a wide range of applications including road and roofing materials, numerous consumer products (e.g., diapers, tool handles and toothbrushes), tapes, labels, medical applications, packaging, automotive and footwear products. Kraton has the leading position in nearly all of its core markets and is the only producer of SBCs with global manufacturing capability. Its production facilities are located in the United States, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Brazil, and Japan.
Polymer Holdings LLC is the parent company of Kraton Polymers LLC and has no material assets other than its investment in Kraton Polymers LLC.
Kraton, the Kraton logo and design are trademarks of Kraton Polymers LLC.
Forward Looking Statements
This presentation may include “forward-looking statements” which are statements other than statements of historical fact and are often characterized by the use of words such as “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “projects,” “may,” “will,” “intends,” “plans” or “anticipates,” or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. All forward-looking statements in this presentation are made based on management's current expectations and estimates, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update such information.
