Ralph Gillespie Email & Phone Number

Skokie, Illinois, Us

Irving, Texas, Us

Served as Senior Director of global process technology. Oversaw development of robust R&D portfolio. Guided improvement in commercial operation processes. Facilitated alignment with business strategy. Guided development of key staff. Oversaw fiscal government and management of intellectual property. Supervised direct/indirect reports in U.S., Europe, and Asia, with annual operating budget of $20,000,000. Developed strong safety culture, with keen emphasis on behavioral safety and focus on attaining and maintaining zero-injury workplace. Established effective collaboration among three process technology groups spanning all company divisions. Worked with business team to establish new portfolio metrics for T&I (Technology & Innovation).• Established project portfolio, projecting more than $40,000,000 in savings in 2018.• Delivered over $30,000,000 in productivity and process improvement projects in 2017.• Completed six years (1,000,000 hours) without significant workplace injuries.

Irving, Texas, Us

 Oversaw commercialization of company new ethanol production technology. Served as acetyls IP strategy leader. Recommended IP strategy and worked closely with chief IP counsel to establish strong IP position. Established acetyls application group to open new markets to acetyls products. Managed annual budget of approximately $30,000,000. Drafted strategy to open new market areas through new technology development. Represented technology on core leadership team for acetyl intermediates. Managed project portfolio process. Led development and performance management for 12 direct and 100 indirect reports.• Developed new-to-world technology successfully commercialized in China (TCX ethanol process).• Created entire patent portfolio for ethanol (over 100 patent families) to support new technology commercialization.• Improved acetic acid and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) processes, resulting in annual productivity gains of $10,000,000.• Realigned acetyls R&D group in implementing corporate initiative to optimize support function cost and effectiveness, saving $17,000,000 annually.• Recommended IP strategy to reduce costs by $6,000,000 per year.

Irving, Texas, Us

Established first corporate collaborative R&D presence in Asia. Developed and executed strategy for obtaining new intellectual property in China. Managed, developed, and doubled R&D staff to meet divisional demand. Identified performance gaps to meet execution expectations. Developed and implemented improvement plan to meet corporate strategy. Implemented process improvements in commercial process units. Drove next-generation technology activities in development and pilot stages of projects. Led team monitoring of state of current technology versus competitors. Served as IP strategy leader for acetyls.• Refilled stagnant pipeline and grew R&D portfolio to facilitate ten-fold increase in total NPV.• Led process improvement developments, allowing for low-cost expansions of multiple VAM and acetic acid units.

Charlotte, North Carolina, Us

Managed new chemistry group in exploratory and fundamentals research center, supervising more than 20 direct/indirect reports and overseeing yearly operating budget of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000. Developed and implemented strategic plan for combinatorial chemistry at UOP. Supervised and developed PhD-level chemists and chemical engineers as well as MS-/BS-level laboratory staff. Developed exploratory project portfolio with technical approaches and economic justifications. Coordinated domestic and international external collaborations. Maintained combinatorial chemistry patent portfolio. Interacted with strategic business unit development managers to align combinatorial chemistry and exploratory projects with commercial needs.

Charlotte, North Carolina, Us

Developed catalyst and process improvements for the chemicals, petrochemicals, and oil & gas industries. Served as associate manager in application science skill center. Acted as team leader in development of applications for combinatorial methods to UOP projects. Commercialized several families of PI-242; LPI-100; I-80; and second-generation Oleflex catalysts. Provided testing and characterization during development of LPI-100 catalyst. Assumed role of research coordinator, providing commercialization support to UOP Oleflex process. Solved key technical problem with Oleflex catalyst in first commercial application in collaboration with characterization and technical service groups. Improved original process and developed second-generation catalyst. Served as principal investigator for Merox and Penex processes. Provided technical support for Merox.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Inorganic Chemistry

Ms, Inorganic Chemistry

Ba, Chemistry