Lubrizol appoints Rhinehart as interim CEO amid search for new leader

WICKLIFFE, Ohio—Lubrizol Corp. is back in the market for a CEO.

The Wickliffe-based specialty chemicals company announced in a news release late Friday, March 11, that it has named Mary Rhinehart as president and CEO on an interim basis, effective immediately. Rhinehart currently serves as the chair of Lubrizol's board.

She succeeds Chris Brown, who became CEO in August 2021 to, as Lubrizol put it in the release, "help the company with important work around safety and operational excellence." At the time of Brown's appointment, Lubrizol did not give a reason that he replaced then-CEO Eric Schnur. However, the company was contending with the fallout from two chemical plant fires: the first in September 2019, in Rouen, France, and another on June 14, 2021, at the Lubrizol-owned Chemtool plant in Rockton, Illinois.

A Lubrizol spokesman in an email on Monday, March 14, confirmed that Brown is no longer with the company in any capacity. The spokesman wrote that he did not have information about Brown's future plans.

Lubrizol, which is owned by holding company Berkshire Hathaway, said in Friday's release that Rhinehart "will lead the search and selection process for a new CEO" and will continue to serve as the company's board chair.

Rhinehart also serves as board chair of Johns Manville, a global building and specialty products manufacturer and a Berkshire Hathaway company. She became Johns Manville's president and CEO in 2012 and assumed the additional role of chair in 2014. Prior to these roles, she was the company's chief financial officer for eight years.

Lubrizol, founded in 1928, owns and operates more than 100 manufacturing facilities, sales and technical offices around the world. It has about 8,600 employees.