The Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Mrs. Ellen J. Kullman!

Ellen J. Kullman
Retired Chair of the Board of Directors & Chief Executive Officer
DuPont
 

Ellen Kullman served as chair of the board of directors and chief executive officer of DuPont from January 2009 to October 2015.

During her seven years as CEO at DuPont, she decisively positioned the company for its next generation of growth and championed the power of DuPont science and market knowledge to change industries. While guiding the company through the global financial crisis of 2008, she developed a plan to transform DuPont by moving out of commoditized businesses and establishing it as a premier, market-driven science company. She intensified the company’s focus in emerging international markets and fundamentally transformed DuPont’s portfolio to take advantage of growth opportunities where the company’s unique science and engineering capabilities could deliver innovation and create sustainable value.

Mrs. Kullman began her 27-year career at DuPont in 1988 as a marketing manager for the DuPont medical imaging business. Prior to joining DuPont, she worked for Westinghouse and General Electric. At DuPont she ran several industrial businesses. She also led the double-digit growth of the company’s Safety & Protection business portfolio and started up two successful high-growth businesses known as DuPont Industrial Biosciences and DuPont Sustainable Solutions. She served as executive vice president, a member of the company’s office of the chief executive and president. She was named CEO at the beginning of 2009 and board chair later that year, becoming the 19th executive to lead DuPont since its founding in 1802.

She is a member of the boards of directors of United Technologies, Dell Technologies, Amgen, Goldman Sachs and Carbon3D. She is also a member of the international advisory council of the Singapore Economic Development Board, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and past chair of the U.S.-China Business Council. She serves on the board of trustees of Northwestern University and the board of overseers of Tufts School of Engineering.

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Mrs. Kullman holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and an M.S. in Management from Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University. She has been named one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" by Fortune and one of the 50 "World’s Most Powerful Women" by Forbes. She is a strong advocate for improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education for prekindergarten through grade 12 students. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from Lehigh University, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Delaware.

The award will be presented to Mrs. Kullman at the Entrepreneurial & Women's Women's Expo on November 14th at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. Join us!  Click here for more info on the event.