COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA) today announced the appointment of Jag Reddy as Vice President, Strategy and Growth, a new position within Grace. He will lead Grace’s strategy and growth process, with a focus on organic growth and innovation. He will address key growth priorities, including strengthening the company’s innovation, commercial and manufacturing capabilities, and will help further implement the Grace Value Model. He reports to President and Chief Operating Officer Hudson La Force, who will succeed Fred Festa as Chief Executive Officer on November 8, 2018.

W. R. Grace & Co. appointed Jag Reddy as Vice President, Strategy and Growth.

“Jag brings solid P&L management and strategy experience, and a clear growth mindset,” said La Force. “He’s proven he has the insight and leadership to build on Grace’s strong strategic position to accelerate our growth and drive achievement of our strategic framework.”

Most recently, Reddy served as Vice President and General Manager, Water Technologies Strategic Business Unit, and Vice President, Corporate Strategy at Pentair PLC. Previously, he held strategy and business leadership roles at ITT Corporation and its spin-off, Xylem Inc. Before that, he held various strategic and business leadership roles with United Technologies Corp., Danaher Corporation, and Denso Corporation.

Jag earned his MBA in Finance and Strategy from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He also holds a master’s in Engineering Management from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering; an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee; and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University, India.

About Grace

Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and engineered materials. The company’s two industry-leading business segments—Catalysts Technologies and Materials Technologies—provide innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes of our customers around the world. With approximately 3,900 employees, Grace operates and/or sells to customers in over 60 countries. More information about Grace is available at grace.com.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, that is, information related to future, not past, events. Such statements generally include the words “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “targets,” “will,” “expects,” “suggests,” “anticipates,” “outlook,” “continues,” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, expected financial positions; results of operations; cash flows; financing plans; business strategy; operating plans; capital and other expenditures; competitive positions; growth opportunities for existing products; benefits from new technology and cost reduction initiatives, plans and objectives; and markets for securities. For these statements, Grace claims the protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Like other businesses, Grace is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from its projections or that could cause other forward-looking statements to prove incorrect. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: risks related to foreign operations, especially in emerging regions; the costs and availability of raw materials, energy and transportation; the effectiveness of its research and development and growth investments; acquisitions and divestitures of assets and businesses; developments affecting Grace’s outstanding indebtedness; developments affecting Grace's pension obligations; its legal and environmental proceedings; environmental compliance costs; the inability to establish or maintain certain business relationships; the inability to hire or retain key personnel; natural disasters such as storms and floods, and force majeure events; changes in tax laws and regulations; international trade disputes, tariffs and sanctions; the potential effects of cyberattacks; and those additional factors set forth in Grace's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are readily available on the Internet at www.sec.gov. Reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on Grace's projections and forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates those projections and statements are made. Grace undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revision to the projections and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this announcement.

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