Dow Elevates COO Karen S. Carter to CEO; Jim Fitterling to Become Executive Chair on July 1, 2026

Dow will hand the chief executive role to Chief Operating Officer Karen S. Carter on July 1, 2026, elevating a longtime insider to steer a sweeping restructuring as current CEO Jim Fitterling becomes executive chair of the board.

The move, announced Tuesday in a company press release, keeps leadership within the existing team at the $40 billion materials‑science and chemicals company as it pushes ahead with “Transform to Outperform,” a multiyear program aimed at lifting productivity, sharpening growth and improving returns through restructuring and cost cuts.

Carter, a more than 30‑year veteran who joined Dow in 1994, will also join the company’s board when her appointment takes effect. Fitterling, who has served as CEO since 2018 and chair since 2020, will remain closely involved as executive chair. Richard Davis will continue as independent lead director.

Dow employs about 34,600 people across manufacturing sites in 29 countries, and its net sales totaled roughly $40 billion in 2025. The scale of the company and its global footprint mean the leadership transition will shape how Dow executes a transformation that affects tens of thousands of workers and a broad array of customers in packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer goods.

The company has described “Transform to Outperform” as an effort to “raise the competitive benchmark” for both productivity and growth. Public disclosures have linked the initiative to restructuring charges and workforce reductions of around 4,500 roles, underscoring the operational and people‑management challenges ahead.

Dow’s board presented the succession as the result of a multiyear planning process and a deliberate choice to emphasize continuity over a strategic reset. Elevating the COO to CEO while keeping the outgoing chief executive as executive chair is a common structure at large public companies when boards want to sustain an existing strategy and focus on execution.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Jim for his exceptional leadership and continued contributions to Dow,” Davis said in the announcement. “Jim has led the company through a period of significant transformation while strengthening Dow's strategy, culture and long-term positioning. We are equally pleased to congratulate Karen on her appointment as CEO. She is a disciplined, highly respected leader with a deep understanding of Dow's businesses and customers. This appointment reflects our confidence in her ability to lead Dow forward into its next chapter of growth and value creation for customers, employees and shareholders.”

Fitterling joined Dow in 1984 and has held multiple leadership roles. As CEO and later chair, he oversaw the company’s spin‑out from DowDuPont and managed through recent macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility that has weighed on the global chemicals industry.

“Serving as CEO of Dow has been the privilege of a lifetime,” Fitterling said. “Together with our employees and leadership team, we have transformed Dow into a stronger, more focused company with the right strategy, capabilities and culture for the future. I look forward to continuing to support Dow as Executive Chair and working closely with Karen to help ensure continuity and strong execution.”

Carter has moved through a series of senior roles that combine operational, commercial and human‑capital responsibilities. She became COO in December 2024 after leading Dow’s Packaging & Specialty Plastics business, one of its largest units, from November 2022. Before that, she served as chief human resources officer and chief inclusion officer from April 2019 to November 2022.

“I am deeply honored to assume the role of CEO and lead Dow into our next chapter,” Carter said in the statement. “Dow has extraordinary people, world-class assets and leading positions in the markets we serve. Our focus remains unwavering: delivering reliable and innovative solutions for our customers, and long-term value for our employees and our shareholders, while accelerating our transformation to set a new competitive standard for best-in-class performance. I look forward to continuing my partnership with Jim in his new role as Executive Chair, and to working with the Board and all of Team Dow to advance our strategy and deliver on our priorities.”

By placing an operations‑focused executive at the top and retaining Fitterling in an active board role, Dow is signaling that consistent, disciplined implementation of “Transform to Outperform” is its priority. For investors — Dow shares were trading around $40.11 on Tuesday morning — as well as employees and customers, the succession plan suggests the company intends to stay the course on a complex overhaul rather than embark on a dramatic change in direction.