Management

Kent Masters was named Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Albemarle Corporation in April 2020. He joined the Albemarle board of directors in 2015 and served as Lead Independent Director from 2018 until April 2020.

Masters brings significant global business experience and a strong knowledge of Albemarle’s strategy, values, and history. He joined the company’s board of directors as part of the Rockwood Holdings Inc. acquisition, where he had previously served on the Rockwood board of directors since 2007.

Prior to joining Albemarle, Masters served as Operating Partner of Advent International, an international private equity group. Prior to Advent, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Foster Wheeler AG, a global engineering and construction contractor and power equipment supplier, when Foster Wheeler AG was acquired by Amec plc to form Amec Foster Wheeler plc. He is also a former member of the executive board of Linde AG, a global leader in manufacturing and sales of industrial gases, with responsibility for the Americas, Africa, and the South Pacific.

Masters earned a Master of Business Administration from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Netha Johnson joined Albemarle in 2018 as President of Bromine Specialties business unit after more than 20 years of diverse leadership experience, both domestically and internationally. He has worked extensively in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, and Germany.

Prior to joining Albemarle, Johnson served in several progressive leadership roles with 3M Company. Most recently, he served as Vice President and General Manager, Electrical Markets Division, where he was directly responsible for 3M’s electrical and renewable energy solutions. Prior to that, he served as 3M’s Vice President, Advanced Materials Division. In this role, he was responsible for three distinct businesses comprising the Advanced Material division, which provided world-leading, innovative solutions in fluoropolymer chemicals, advanced ceramics, and light-weighting materials.

Preceding his business career, Johnson served as a U.S. Naval Special Operations Officer. Johnson earned a Master of Business Administration from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California.

Johnson is a member of the board of directors of Xcel Energy.

Raphael Crawford joined Albemarle in 2012 as Vice President of the Performance Catalyst Solutions division. In 2015, he was appointed Vice President of the Synthesis and Polymer Solutions division, as well as the Managing Director for Rockwood Lithium GbmH in Germany. Later in 2015, Crawford was appointed President of the Bromine Specialties business unit. In 2018, he assumed his current role as President of the Catalysts business unit.

Prior to Albemarle, Crawford served as the Director of Global Marketing and Business Development for Dow Coating Materials, a global business unit of The Dow Chemical Company. He also served as the Global Commercial Director and Global Asset Director for Dow Water and Process Solutions, following the acquisition of Rohm and Haas Company. Previously, Crawford held various strategic marketing and commercial roles at Rohm and Haas.

Prior to Rohm and Haas, Crawford worked at Campbell Soup Company as a Marketing Manager. He began his career at SNET Telecommunications where he served in several capacities including new ventures, finance, and marketing.

Crawford earned a master’s degree in finance from the University of New Haven, where he currently serves on their Board of Governors, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wesleyan University. He is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and maintains professional certifications in management accounting and financial management by the Institute of Management Accountants.

Crawford is a member of the board of directors of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) association, where he had served as chairman of the Petrochemical Members Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee.

Eric Norris joined Albemarle in January 2018 as Chief Strategy Officer. In this role, he managed the company’s strategic planning, M&A, and corporate business development programs as well as its investor relations efforts. In August 2018, he was appointed President of the Lithium global business unit.

Prior to joining Albemarle, Norris served as President of Health and Nutrition for FMC Corporation. Following FMC’s announcement to acquire DuPont Agricultural Chemical assets, he led the divestiture of FMC Health and Nutrition to DuPont. Previously, Norris served as Vice President and Global Business Director for FMC Health and Nutrition, and Vice President and Global Business Director for FMC Lithium. During his 16-year FMC career, he served in additional leadership roles including Investor Relations, Corporate Development and Director of FMC Healthcare Ventures. Prior to FMC, Norris founded and led an internet-based firm offering formulation and design tools to the chemical industry. He started his career in a range of leadership roles with the Rohm and Haas Company.

Norris earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and German from Colgate University.

Norris is a member of the board of directors of Communities in Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and is a member of the board of advisors of The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA).

Ellen Lenny-Pessagno serves as Vice President Global Lithium Sustainability & Country Manager in Chile.

Lenny-Pessagno supports the execution of the corporate strategy, leads Albemarle's relationship with government entities and the local community, guides the development and execution of environmental policy, management and compliance, and provides visible leadership in the areas of corporate and local compliance, HSE and crisis management, and people and organization. She is also a member of the Lithium Division’s corporate leadership team and is accountable for sustainability in the lithium division globally.

Prior to joining Albemarle, Lenny-Pessagno served as a career diplomat for the United States for more than 25 years. At U.S. Embassies in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Chile, and Colombia, she led the commercial portfolio, dialoguing with local governments to drive policy and regulatory changes to increase bilateral trade, developing commercial strategies and programs to promote US exports and helping American companies invest. She has extensive experience in international trade policy, international business strategy, negotiations, public affairs, and communications. She also served as a Board Member of the American Chamber of Commerce in those markets. Her U.S. assignments included trade roles in Washington and Houston.

Lenny-Pessagno has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wake Forest University and a master's in international commerce and policy from George Mason University. In 2017, she became the first American to participate in the top Senior Executive Management program in Chile at the ESE Business School of the University of Los Andes.

Jac Fourie joined Albemarle in January 2019 as Vice President, Engineering and Project Execution. In his role, he is responsible for Albemarle’s engineering, project development, and project execution activities across major projects and sustaining capital. In June 2021, he was appointed Chief Capital Projects Officer.

Prior to joining Albemarle, Fourie served as Senior Vice President of Capital Projects for Barrick Gold Corporation, where he was responsible for projects in the U.S., Chile, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia.

Previously, Fourie spent 16 years with BHP Billiton where he held various leadership roles in projects, operations, marketing and business development. As VP Projects - Iron Ore, he oversaw a portfolio of major capital projects and sustaining capital projects in Western Australia. As Head of Group Business Management Systems, he was responsible for implementing a large SAP system project for BHP Billiton, while based in Singapore. Prior to this, he was Asset President of BHP Billiton’s New Mexico Coal business.

Fourie earned his Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and was recognized as the Ford Scholar for best academic performance. He graduated with honors from University of Pretoria with a bachelor’s degree in both chemical engineering and mathematics.

Scott Tozier serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In this role, he is responsible for all financial and fiscal management aspects of the company’s operations. He sets internal controls within the organization to protect the financial interest of stakeholders, provides leadership and coordination in the administrative, business planning, accounting and budgeting efforts of the company, and addresses strategic management decisions from a financial standpoint. Customer service, purchasing and logistics functional groups report to him.

Tozier joined Albemarle in January 2011 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to joining Albemarle, Tozier served as Vice President of Finance, Transformation and Operations of Honeywell International. During his 16-year career with Honeywell, he held senior financial positions in the U.S., Australia, and Europe. His increasingly progressive roles included management of Financial Planning, Analysis and Reporting, Global Credit and Treasury Services. He also served as Chief Financial Officer of Honeywell’s Transportation Systems, Turbo Technologies EMEA, Building Solutions EMEA, and Process Solutions Asia Pacific divisions.

Prior to Honeywell, Tozier served as Senior Auditor with the international firm Ernst & Young, LLP. Tozier is a certified public accountant. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and information systems from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Tozier is a member of the board of directors of Garrett Motion, a trustee of Blumenthal Performing Arts, and a member of the board of advisors for Junior Achievement of the Carolinas.

Meredith Bandy serves as Albemarle’s Vice President, Investor Relations & Sustainability. In this role, she oversees the company’s sustainability reporting and corporate initiatives and leads its investor relations efforts.

Bandy joined Albemarle in March 2020 with 22 years of experience in investor relations and capital markets. Prior to joining Albemarle, she served as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications for GrafTech International Ltd., a global graphite electrode leader based in Ohio. Prior to this, she held the role of Vice President, Investor Relations for Newmont Mining in Denver, Colo. Her previous roles also include more than 10 years in equity research covering basic materials industries for BMO Capital Markets, a leading Canadian brokerage.

Bandy is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Georgetown University.