A reminder of the long road ahead for female corporate leaders

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Terri Kelly
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Good morning all,

Yesterday was International Women’s Day.  It was a reminder of about how far we have come and how far we have to go.

A few years ago,  two of Delaware’s largest companies were headed by women.

By this summer, the number will be down to zero when Terri Kelly fully retires as CEO of W.L. Gore after a three-decade career at the Newark-based company.

Earlier Ellen Kullman stepped down at DuPont Co., paving the way for the merger with Dow, massive job cuts and the future spin-off of the behemoth into three companies.

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It remains to be seen how the future of Gore and DowDuPont will play out after Kelly and Kullman’s time as CEO.

Some suggest that both were handed the top slot in difficult situations.

Kullman faced pressure from shareholders demanding a split-up of the company. Kullman’s move to form  Chemours out of a collection of cyclical  DuPont chemical businesses is working well, despite some long-standing environmental headaches.

It could be argued that Chemours has worked out so well that its former parent should have kept a large stake in the company while allowing CEO Mark Vergnano to pursue a successful strategy of lowering overhead costs and improving efficiency.

Did sexism play a part in Kullman’s final days in battling activist investor Nelson Peltz, whose recommendations, minus a Dow merger, would have weakened the company?

Peltz denies such claims, but the cowboy culture of private equity firms was clearly at work. The female CEO of PepsiCo faced similar treatment from Peltz, but managed to weather the storm and fight off an attempt to split up beverage and snack food (Frito-Lay) operations.

The situation was different for Kelly at closely held Gore. However, Kelly was involved in making tough decisions in the United Kingdom and elsewhere regarding long-time businesses that may no longer be as profitable.

There were also a few observers who hinted at spinning off the legacy and medical businesses.

Some of Gore’s markets have recovered, but competitive pressures remain.

The appointment of a new Gore CEO who has worked on the medical side will not allay concerns that big changes are ahead.

Our hope is that Kelly joins Kullman in working to move more women into executive and management positions. During her time at the helm of  Gore, Kelly did appear at a number of events related to women in tech and other industries.

Have a great weekend. Our newsletter returns on Monday. – Sharon and Doug Rainey.

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