Ellen J. Kullman (born January 22, 1956) is a United States

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations ...

. Since November 2019, she has been the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

Carbon (company) Carbon (legally Carbon, Inc.) is a digital manufacturing company founded in 2013 by Joseph and Philip DeSimone, Alex and Nikita Ermoshkin, Edward Samulski, and Steve Nelson. Carbon is based in Redwood City, California. The company manufactures a ...

. She was formerly Chair and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont") in Wilmington and is a former director of General Motors. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' ranked her 31st of the 100 Most Powerful Women in 2014. Kullman retired from DuPont on October 16, 2015.

Early life

Kullman was born Ellen Jamison in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, the younger daughter of Joseph and Margaret Jamison. She has two older brothers and an older sister. Kullman attended

Tower Hill School Tower Hill School is a private college preparatory school in Wilmington, Delaware, offering instruction for pre-school through 12th grade. History Tower Hill was founded in 1919. The school is situated at the high point of Wilmington's neighbo ...

in Wilmington and then studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, where she received her bachelor's degree in 1978. In 1983, she received a master's degree in management from Kellogg School of Management at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Career

Kullman began her business career at

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

and joined DuPont in 1988 as marketing manager in the company's medical imaging business. In her later role as executive vice president she was responsible for four of DuPont's business platforms as well as for leading the company's growth in markets outside the USA. DuPont's board of directors elected Kullman President and a director of the company, coming into effect October 1, 2008, and

, coming into effect January 1, 2009. She was the nineteenth executive, and the first woman, to lead the company in its 212-year history. Fortune magazine named Kullman fifteenth in its list of the world's fifty most powerful women for 2008, and fifth on the list for 2009 and 2010. In 2014 she was ranked as the 31st most powerful woman in the world, up from 42nd in 2013.

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

named her eighth on its 2008 list of "Women to Watch". Kullman was a director of General Motors from 2004-2008 and was elected to the board of trustees of Tufts University in 2006. On October 30, 2009, DuPont announced that its board of directors had elected Kullman as Chair of the company effective December 31, 2009. She was a member of the Executive Committee of

The Business Council The Business Council is an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.The Business Council, Official website, Executive Committee
On June 6, 2013 the US-China Business Council announced that Kullman had been elected as its Chair. Kullman's retirement was announced by DuPont on October 5, 2015 (effective October 16, 2015) following a battle with activist investor

Nelson Peltz Nelson Peltz (born June 24, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman and investor. He is a founding partner, together with Peter W. May and Edward P. Garden, of Trian Fund Management, an alternative investment management fund based in New Yor ...

and Trian Fund Management, his investment firm. Peltz sought 4 board seats and argued that DuPont needed to cut costs and meet financial targets, but had lost a shareholder vote earlier in the year. On October 14, 2016,

Amgen Amgen Inc. (formerly Applied Molecular Genetics Inc.) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. One of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, Amgen was established in T ...

appointed Kullman to its board of directors. On December 21, 2016, Kullman joined the board of directors of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. as an independent director.

Awards and honors

Kullman has been awarded Sellinger's Business Leader of the Year. In 2014, she was given the George Washington Carver Award for innovation in industrial biotechnology. She is the first woman to receive the award. In 2015, Kullman received the International Palladium Medal from the Société de Chimie Industrielle (American Section), the Engineering Leader of the Year Award, the Pete du Pont Individual Freedom Award, and Delaware's Order of the First State. She is also a recipient of the Msgr. Thomas J. Reese Award from Catholic Charities. Kullman was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 2015 for leadership in the business growth and transformation of a global science and engineering company. In 2020, Kullman was named as one of the Top 50 Best CEOs for Small/Mid-Size companies by Comparably.

Controversy

In October 2019, Kullman responded to accusations that in her role as CEO of DuPont, she inappropriately delegated DuPont's environmental liabilities to a spin-off company,

Chemours Chemours (, ) is an American chemical company that was founded in July 2015 as a spin-off from DuPont. It has its corporate headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. History In October 2013, DuPont announced that it was planning to ...

. DuPont incurred environmental liabilities as a result of contaminating drinking water with

Perfluorooctanoic acid Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA; conjugate base perfluorooctanoate; also known colloquially as C8, for its 8 carbon chain structure) is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid produced and used worldwide as an industrial surfactant in chemical processes a ...

, a chemical which is harmful to humans and the environment, and is known to be the cause of multiple diseases in humans and animals, including cancers and birth defects, and has resulted in cancer in 2,507 individuals living in Wood County, West Virginia. On March 26, 2018, Kullman's alma mater

announced they would be awarding her an honorary degree. In the weeks leading up to graduation, this was met by University-wide outrage. During her speech at the University's graduation, hundreds of students protested with signs and turned their backs to her.

Personal life

Kullman is married to Michael Kullman and they have three children.

References

External links

Kullman's bio at DuPont.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kullman, Ellen J. Businesspeople from Wilmington, Delaware Tufts University School of Engineering alumni Kellogg School of Management alumni DuPont people General Motors former executives 1956 births Living people People in the chemical industry Women corporate directors 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople Tower Hill School alumni 21st-century American businesswomen