Ingevity Corporation today announced that it has named Erik Ripple as the company’s chief growth and innovation officer and as such will join the company’s leadership team, effective October 1. Ripple had previously served as president, Asia / Pacific for Ingevity, and will continue to hold those responsibilities on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is named.

“Consistent with our new direction toward ‘Ingevity 2.0,’ we are creating a team and a leadership position focused solely on driving growth opportunities,” said John Fortson, president and CEO of Ingevity. “Erik will be tasked with building a function that leverages our ‘innovation heritage,’ and identifies and captures opportunities to grow our top line and further our place as a top-quartile specialty chemical company. Erik’s experience in strategic business development, innovation, leadership and ‘outside the box thinking’ make him ideally suited for this new role.”

Ripple joined Ingevity in April 2010 as director, corporate development leading strategic acquisition initiatives. He was promoted to business director, global automotive in January 2013 and four years later promoted to vice president, Performance Materials in March 2017. He was named to his current role in July 2018. Prior to joining Ingevity, Ripple spent 18 years with Eastman Chemical Company, rising through positions of increasing responsibility including business and regional leadership roles. His two most recent assignments at Eastman were as corporate development manager from 2005 to 2008 and as innovation leader from 2008 to 2010. Ripple holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University in St. Louis.