Indian American wins chemical industry medal

Indian American, Raj L Gupta, chairman, president and CEO of Rohm and Haas Company has been chosen for the chemical industry's most prestigious honour - the 2007 Chemical Industry Medal, by the Society of Chemical Industry.

The Chemical Industry Medal is awarded annually "for contributions toward the growth of the chemical industry."

The award is especially notable in that the membership of the SCI includes the leaders of the chemical industry, most of whom work within the highest ranks of their respective companies. Among other things, Gupta is being recognised for his continued commitment to the success of the global industry.

"Throughout his career, during which he worked in three continents, Gupta has encouraged both his company and others to hire the best possible people, to always behave in an ethical and responsible manner, and to promote a widerunderstanding of the benefits the industry's technology brings to every day life."

"People all over the world want the same thing, regardless of nationality or ethnic origin," he says.  "They want to have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their talents, to work for a company of which they can be proud, and to put their talents to help improve the quality of life for themselves and for others. The global chemical industry provides all of those opportunities, and more." 

SCI, established in 1881, is a unique international forum where science meets business on an independent, impartial ground. During his 35-year career with Rohm and Haas, a Philadelphia-based Fortune 500 firm that makes products for the personal care, grocery, home and construction markets, and the electronics industry, Gupta has transformed the company into a global powerhouse that generates revenues of $8 billion a year.

Originally from Muzzaffarnagar, Gupta studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay,(1967) and earned an opportunity for a fellowship at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He finished his master's degree in operations research in 1969. He completed his MBA in Finance in 1971 from Drexel University while being employed at Scott Paper Company.

Gupta joined Rohm and Haas in 1971 as a financial analyst. By the end of the decade he was working for the company in Europe, and during the 1980s assumed increasingly broader business responsibilities in the region, eventually becoming the global director for the Plastics Additives business in 1989.

By 1993, Gupta had become a vice president and was directing the company's entire operations in the Pacific Region. He became member of the chairman's committee in 1996.

This was followed in 1998 by election to the board of directors and, in 1999, by appointment as vice chairman. Gupta became the chairman and CEO of Rohm and Haas later that year. The title of president was added in 2005.

The Society of Chemical Industry, American section, will award the medal to Raj L Gupta in New York city on March 8.