Business Positions
Ashland, Inc.
Chemical company
Ashland Inc. Vice President and President, Ashland Water Technologies Hank Waters, 47, is responsible for Ashland’s water technologies which provides specialized chemicals and consulting services for water treatment processes, technical products and shipboard services for the world’s merchant marine fleet and also provides specialized chemical additives for the paint and coatings industry. Mr. Waters joined Ashland Inc. in 1991, as a business development specialist in the former Ashland Chemical Company's Planning and Development Department at Dublin, Ohio. He later served as a district manager and as a regional sales director for the Industrial Chemicals & Solvents Division. He was later named executive assistant to then-Ashland Inc. Chief Executive Officer Paul Chellgren and relocated to Ashland, Ky. In this position, he assisted Chellgren in a variety of responsibilities, including administrative tasks, special projects and management of Executive Committee activities. In June 1998, Waters returned to the Ashland Chemicals group, at Dublin, Ohio, serving as director of sales for the Fine Ingredients Division. In January 1999, he became vice president and general manager of Distribution's Ashland Plastics Division, relocating to Brussels, Belgium. Waters is credited with returning that operating unit, one of the largest distributors of thermoplastics in Europe, to profitability in a difficult business climate. In January 2002, he was named president of the Ashland Distribution division and in October 2006, appointed as president of the Ashland Water Technologies and the Ashland Performance Materials divisions. He was named to his current position in August 2008. Prior to joining Ashland, Mr. Waters held positions with General Electric Company's Plastics Division and with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. A native of Utica, Ohio, Mr. Waters earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Ohio University at Athens in 1983. He also is a graduate of the Harvard Business School General Manager Program.
