Chemical Engineering Alumni
1. Chemical Engineering Outstanding Engineering Alumni
Alumni Awards Home > O.E.A. > 1980 - 1989 > C. Robert Powell (1988)
Bob Powell joined Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., as chairman and chief executive officer in 1982, following thirty-one years with the Diamond Shamrock Corporation. He began his career in 1950 with the Diamond Alkali Company. After Diamond Alkali merged with Shamrock Oil and Gas Corporation, Mr. Powell became general manager of the electrochemicals division. He was named president of Diamond Shamrock Chemical Company in 1974, at which time the board of directors also elected him a vice president and officer of the corporation. In 1976, he was elected executive vice president of the coporation and president of the industrial chemcials unit, a post he held until joining Reichhold.
When Mr. Powell was president of Diamond Shamrock, he demonstrated an interest in Penn State graduates by visiting the chemical engineering department to recruit students for the firm. He also has served as an honorary lecturer for the deparment. He is a member of the board of directors of the I.T.T. Corporation and is a member of the Chemical Manufacturers Association. He holds a master's degree in business administration from Rutgers University.
Written in 1988, Top of page