Cabot announces executive promotions
Boston, MA – Cabot Corporation announced the promotions to Executive Vice President for three senior leaders: Hobart C. Kalkstein, President, Reinforcement Materials Segment, Digital and Americas Region; Erica McLaughlin, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Head of Corporate Strategy; and Jeff Zhu, President, Performance Chemicals Segment and Asia Pacific Region. All three continue to report to Sean Keohane, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We have an incredible executive management team at Cabot, and I am thrilled to announce these well-earned executive promotions which recognize these individual’s significant contributions to Cabot’s success,” said Keohane. “All three have been instrumental to our success to date and will enable us to achieve our next phase of advantaged growth and innovation. I am proud to serve alongside them on Cabot’s executive management team.”
Kalkstein joined the executive management team in April 2016 as Senior Vice President and President, Reinforcement Materials Segment and President, Americas Region. He also is responsible for Cabot’s Digital organization. Kalkstein has held several key management positions since joining the company in 2005. Kalkstein was previously vice president of corporate strategy and development; vice president of global business operations and general manager of global emission control solutions for the Purification Solutions segment; vice president of business operations and executive director of marketing and business strategy for the Performance Chemicals segment; and general manager of the aerogel business. Prior to joining Cabot, Kalkstein worked for Boston Consulting Group. Kalkstein earned his MBA from Harvard University and a BSE in civil engineering and operations research at Princeton University.
McLaughlin was appointed Senior Vice President and CFO in May 2018, after serving as vice president of business operations for the Reinforcement Materials segment and general manager of the tire business. She also leads Cabot’s corporate strategy and corporate communications functions. McLaughlin joined Cabot in 2002 and has held a variety of roles within the finance organization and Cabot’s global businesses. Since joining the company, she has held a number of senior leadership positions including vice president of investor relations and corporate communications, as well as global director of strategy, planning and finance for Cabot’s core segment. Prior to joining Cabot, Erica worked for KPMG, LLP in their audit services division. She is a Certified Public Accountant and earned an MBA and a BS in accounting from Boston College. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Azenta Life Sciences (Nasdaq: AZTA) and the Advisory Board of FM Global.
Zhu joined Cabot in 2012 as a Senior Vice President and President of the Asia Pacific region. As President, Performance Chemicals Segment, Zhu is also responsible for the management of the Performance Chemicals segment including the battery materials, specialty carbons, specialty compounds, fumed metal oxides, inkjet, and aerogel product lines. Jeff’s most recent experience before joining Cabot was with Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited (APRIL), a multibillion USD privately owned global paper and pulp company, where he served as head of global sales. Prior to that, he spent 18 years with Rhodia (and its predecessor Rhone‐Poulenc) where he served in a variety of regional and global business leadership roles, including Asia Pacific regional commercial director, regional vice president and general manager of Novecare, and vice president and global director of electronics and catalysis. He served as the chairman of the board of the Association of International Chemical Manufacturers (AICM). Jeff earned his Master of Science degree in Chemistry from National University of Singapore and a distinction MBA from the University of Hull, UK.
“I am truly excited by the possibilities that lie ahead for these outstanding individuals and for our company,” continued Keohane. “We have benefited greatly from Bart, Erica and Jeff’s contributions and we are delighted to recognize the broader role they will play as we continue to execute our ‘Creating for Tomorrow’ strategy to leverage our strengths to lead in performance and sustainability — today and into the future.”