Chemours Promotes Charles to Senior VP of People

The Chemours Co. announced that Ron Charles, vice president of Talent and Culture and Human Resources business partner (HRBP) for Titanium Technologies, will be promoted to senior vice president, People, leading all aspects of human resources effective October 1, 2023.

Charles takes on his new executive role with 24 years of human resources, manufacturing, and labor relations experience, including 18-plus years in the chemical industry. During his six-year tenure with Chemours, Charles has contributed to Chemours’ performance through various HR leadership assignments spanning the fluoroproducts, fluorochemicals, and titanium technologies businesses. He has also led the personnel aspects of several large-scale, transformative business initiatives, including the Southern Ionics Minerals acquisition and the divestiture of the methylamines business line.

Leveraging his deep frontline workforce experience, Mr. Charles has made a meaningful impact on Chemours plant sites by automating the company-wide time and attendance system, which improved process efficiency and effectiveness. He also played a leadership role in forming the strategy and approach to negotiations and optimization of labor contracts at critical manufacturing locations. More recently, he expanded his responsibility to include leadership of the Culture and Talent organization, where he assembled a high-performance team, upgraded the talent acquisition process, and developed programs, policies, and tools for frontline and office employees.

Before Chemours, Charles held various leadership positions with Phillips 66, Albemarle Corporation, Frito Lay, and Texas Instruments. There, he gained deep experience serving as the HR leader of billion-dollar business units and their frontline workforce and leading the people aspects of complex mergers, divestitures, and organizational restructures.

Ron is a trusted advisor who brings a wealth of knowledge in strategically managing HR for an evolving company like Chemours. Plus, his deep manufacturing and labor relations experience will bring tremendous insight as we look to maximize the performance of our plant sites which represent 75% of our workforce," said Newman. "Ron’s unique perspective and ability to find simple solutions to complex HR challenges make him critical to our continued success and a welcome addition to the executive team.”

Susan Kelliher, current Senior Vice President, People has formalized her intention to retire from Chemours at the end of September 2023. As a part of her transition plan, Kelliher will serve as a strategic advisor to the company, focused exclusively on organizational effectiveness, reporting directly to CEO Mark Newman. 

Kelliher has 30-plus years of human resources experience and has served since 2017 as a member of the Chemours executive team. At Chemours, she built an extremely deep talent bench that fueled the impressive performance of its businesses. To attract high-caliber professionals, she implemented pay transparency and transformed the landscape of employee benefits to best-in-class by introducing offerings such as flexible work schedules, extended parental leave, an enhanced wellness program, student loan assistance, and adoption support.

Her passion for developing the best and brightest people from different backgrounds and experiences produced the most diverse workforce and executive team in our history. Kelliher complemented this achievement by creating the company’s first Diversity Council, which she served as executive sponsor. She also led the institution of Great Place to Work Certification as an insightful measure of employee sentiment and to crystallize opportunities for continuous workplace improvement. 

“Susan’s focus on organizational health and attracting and developing talent to reach their full potential have delivered stellar results and been a powerful catalyst for change within Chemours. Her work has reached every corner of this company, and we will feel her impact for years to come," said Newman.