SAN FRANCISCO—Shinobu Watanabe of Ube Industries Ltd. has been elected president international of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers.
Watanabe, who is president of Chemicals & Plastics Co. business of Ube, will preside over the organization's 2014 Annual General Meeting in Kyoto, Japan, and serve for the year 2013-2014, the IISRP said. He succeeds John Lyon, global vice president of butyl for ExxonMobil Chemical Co., who now becomes past-president international.
The change was announced April 18 during the institute's meeting in San Francisco
Watanabe has been with Ube April 1977 and in senior management since 1999. Among his posts have been chairman of Ube Corp. Europe S.A. and Ube Chemicals Europe S.A.; managing executive officer and vice president, and later president, of Specialty Chemicals & Products Co. in Japan, and his current assignment, which he took this month.
The Ube executive also will serve as president of the IISRP's Far Eastern Section for 2013-2014. Other members elected to the Executive Committee for the year 2013-2014 are:
c Far East Section. Kisu Ro of LG Chem, vice president;
c European Section. Mikhail Gordin of Sibur, president, and Abraham Brink of Karbochem, vice president and standing member; and
c Americas Section. Barton Bowser of Dow Chemical, president; Juan Ramon Salins of Dynasol, vice president; and Tim Gorman of Ashland, standing member.
Also on the Executive Committee are ExxonMobil's Lyon; Wei-Hua Tu of TSRC as treasurer; and James L. McGraw, IISRP managing director and CEO, assistant treasurer and secretary.