Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Products, to be Awarded the 2017 International Palladium Medal

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Jan. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Société de Chimie Industrielle will award the 2017 biennial International Palladium Medal to Air Products Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Seifi Ghasemi for his distinguished contributions to the chemical industry, leadership, and personal record of enhancing the international aims and objectives of the Société de Chimie Industrielle. He will receive the award at a black-tie dinner in his honor on Thursday, June 1, 2017 in the Grand Ballroom of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York.

The award was established in 1958 and the first Palladium Medal was presented to Ernest-John Solvay of Belgium. Twenty-eight subsequent awards have been made to American, French, British, and German recipients.

Ghasemi became chairman, president and chief executive officer of Air Products in July 2014. Since that time, he has led the transformation of Air Products into the world's most profitable industrial gases company by reorganizing and decentralizing the gases business; exiting non-core business; driving culture change based on safety, speed, simplicity and self-confidence; controlling capital and improving operational efficiency; and aligning rewards to performance.

Prior to joining Air Products, from 2001-2014, Ghasemi served as chairman and chief executive officer of Rockwood Holdings, a global leader in inorganic specialty chemicals and advanced materials that was acquired by Albemarle Corporation in January 2015. From 1997-2001, he held leadership roles at GKN. Earlier in his career, Ghasemi spent nearly 20 years with The BOC Group (the industrial gas company which is now part of Linde AG) in positions including director of the Main Board of BOC Group, plc and president of BOC Gases Americas.

Peter Young, President of Société de Chimie Industrielle, commented, "Seifi Ghasemi, through his lifelong career accomplishments and contributions to the industry, exemplifies the reasons why the International Palladium Medal Award was established 59 years ago."

About Société de Chimie
The Société de Chimie, founded in 1918 in New York, is a dynamic and visionary industry organization committed to inspiring interest and knowledge sharing in the Chemical and Life Science Industries through networking, advanced learning, and the recognition of distinguished leaders and mentorship.

Specifically, Société is involved in non-profit activities such scholarships and grants for students studying chemistry and chemical engineering, luncheon speaker programs featuring industry leaders and industry experts, a mentor program for students where our members are the mentors, and webinars covering important topics. In addition, The International Palladium Medal is awarded biennially by Société to honor an individual who has distinguished themselves by reason of outstanding contribution to the chemical industry.

For more information about Société please see www.societe.org.

About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company's core industrial gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.

The Company had fiscal 2016 sales of $7.5 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of approximately $30 billion. Approximately 16,000 employees are making Air Products the world's safest and best performing industrial gases company, providing sustainable offerings and excellent service to all customers. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

SOURCE Air Products

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