, native_name_lang = Bulgarian , image = Frank Popoff CHF San Antonio 2014 03 31 PET2014 077 Crop.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Frank Popoff (2014) , birth_date = , birth_place =

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, death_date = , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , other_names = , residence = , citizenship = , nationality = , fields = Petrochemical Industry , workplaces =

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...

, TCF Financial Corporation , patrons = , education = , alma_mater =

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

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Petrochemical Heritage Award The Petrochemical Heritage Award was established in 1997, "to recognize individuals who made outstanding contributions to the petrochemical community." The award is intended to inspire achievement and to promote public understanding. The award w ...

, author_abbrev_bot = , author_abbrev_zoo = , spouse = , partner = Jean Urse , children = , signature = , signature_alt = , website = , footnotes = Frank Popoff or Frank Popov ( bg, Франк Попов; born 1935 in

Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria ( bg, Царство България, translit=Tsarstvo Balgariya), also referred to as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom ( bg, Трето Българско Царство, translit=Treto Balgarsko Tsarstvo, links=no), someti ...

) is a

Bulgarian American Bulgarian Americans ( bg, Американски българи) are Americans of Bulgarian descent. For the 2000 United States Census, 55,489 Americans indicated Bulgarian as their first ancestry, while 92,841 persons declared to have Bulgaria ...

businessman. He has served as the chairman of TCF Financial Corporation since April 2004.

Biography

Born in

, on October 27, 1935, Popoff emigrated in 1941 with his father and mother, Eftim and Stoyanka Popoff and his sister Joan to Terre Haute, Indiana. He graduated from Indiana University with an A.B. in chemistry and a Master of Business Administration in 1959. He is a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. While in graduate school he married Jean Urse, a graduate of the IU College of Education on August 30, 1958. They have three sons, John, Thomas, and Steven and four grandchildren, Maxwell, Hanna, Mia and, Marcus. Popoff joined The Dow Chemical Company in 1959 and served in technical service and development, sales and marketing positions prior to becoming general manager of the Agricultural Products Department, president of Dow Chemical Europe in Zurich, Switzerland, and returning to Dow's Midland, Michigan, headquarters in 1985 to become chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors.

Early life

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1935, he moved with his family to Terre Haute, Indiana, as a six-year-old. In 1941 he attended high school in Terre Haute, and after that he attended college at Indiana University, graduating with an A.B. in chemistry from Indiana University and an MBA from IU's Kelley School of Business.

Career

He was the chief executive officer of The Dow Chemical Company from December 1987 to November 1995, and chairman of the board from December 1992 to November 2000. He was a director of Chemical Financial Corporation from 1989 to 2006 and chairman from 2004 to 2006. He has served as director of American Express Co., Qwest Communications International Inc., United Technologies Corp. and

Shin-Etsu Chemical is the largest chemical company in Japan, ranked No. 9 in Forbes Global 2000 for chemical sector. Shin-Etsu has the largest global market share for polyvinyl chloride, semiconductor silicon, and photomask substrates. The company was named one ...

Co. Ltd. and is director emeritus of the Indiana University Foundation. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society and served as a member of The

Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, BR ...

and the Business Council. He was titled Knight Commander in the Order of Oranje-Nassau by the Netherlands in 1989, received the Leadership Award of the United States Council for International Business in 1992, the Rene Dubos Environmental Award in 1993 and the Palladium Medal in 1994.

References

External links

Frank Popoff relationship map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popoff, Frank American Express people 1935 births Living people Dow Chemical Company Bulgarian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American businesspeople