PASADENA, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 19, 2016) - Materia, Inc. announced effective today that its Board of Directors has appointed Nitin Apte as the Company's new President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are very pleased that Nitin has agreed to lead Materia," said the Company's Chairman Ray Roberge. "Nitin has successfully led advanced materials businesses at SABIC and GE, and he brings deep market knowledge in the performance materials sector and a proven track record of leading growth businesses."
"The Materia team has done an extraordinary job in advancing its Grubbs Catalyst® technology and Proxima® polymer platforms," said Nitin. "I am excited to join such an innovative company and help expand the use of its catalyst and high performance resin products in key sectors worldwide."
Nitin brings to Materia over 25 years of experience in global assignments spanning P&L leadership, marketing, innovation, supply chain, Six Sigma, manufacturing and product management. He joins the Company from SABIC, among the world's largest petrochemical manufacturers, where he led the High Performance Products division. Previously, Nitin led Strategic Growth and Innovation for SABIC's plastics business unit and managed its Specialty Resins division. He also held key leadership positions at GE Plastics before its acquisition by SABIC.
Nitin succeeds Co-Founder Dr. Michael Giardello who has transitioned to a new role as Senior Advisor to the Company. Mike will focus his attention on process scale up and project execution of Materia's resin plant expansion in Huntsville, Texas to support key growth initiatives. "Nitin is a proven business leader, and his vast experience in performance plastics materials will be a huge asset in accelerating the Company's growth," stated Mike Giardello.
Mike served as President, CEO and CTO of Materia since 1999. During this time, the Company successfully commercialized its olefin metathesis catalyst and high performance resin platforms. Among the Company's achievements are the adoption of its catalysts by the pharmaceutical industry to create groundbreaking new therapeutics and the development of a new class of thermoset resins which have been adopted by the oil & gas industry for subsea insulation for deepwater HPHT applications, high performance buoyancy and tools for horizontal drilling.
About Materia
Materia develops and manufactures catalysts and advanced materials that solve complex problems facing today's chemical, electronic, energy, industrial, pharmaceutical, and transportation companies. With applications ranging from pharmaceutical drugs to subsea oil & gas production to structural composites, Materia's Grubbs Catalyst technology and Proxima polymer platform create differentiated value for its customers. For more information, visit: www.materia-inc.com.