Air Products announced that Marie Ffolkes has been appointed to the position of President, Industrial Gases–Americas, effective May 18, 2015. Ffolkes comes to Air Products with 20 years of manufacturing experience and has held senior executive positions with advancing responsibilities at several companies during that time. Ffolkes will report to Corning Painter, executive vice president–Industrial Gases, who held the new position on an interim basis until an appointment was made.

At Air Products, Ffolkes will be responsible for driving the strategy and profitability of the Industrial Gases–Americas business segment, one of the company’s largest business areas, to achieve its primary business objectives and ensure growth, in addition to directing long range business planning efforts. As this is a new position within Air Products, Ffolkes will be responsible for leading change and transformation within this business segment by helping to combine the various industrial gases businesses into one unit, a change from the previous structure.

Across North and South America, Ffolkes will have accountability for safety, plant operations, distribution, supply chain, procurement, sales, marketing, as well as regional operations. Ffolkes joins Air Products most recently from Tenneco, Inc. where she was global vice president and general manager of its Global Elastomer & Ride Performance Group responsible for growth, planning and directing all activities across two business units. Prior to Tenneco, she was with Johnson Controls, Inc. as vice president and general manager for its South American Region’s Automotive Group based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Ffolkes also formerly worked for General Electric Company in a variety of roles, including senior manager, Global Mergers & Acquisitions–GE Healthcare. She graduated from GE’s Financial Management Program (FMP). She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.S. from Brooklyn College.