By Blossom Ukoha
“I am deeply honored to assume the role of CEO and lead Dow into our next chapter… Our focus remains unwavering: delivering reliable and innovative solutions for our customers, and long-term value for our employees and our shareholders, while accelerating our transformation to set a new competitive standard for best-in-class performance.”
For Karen S. Carter, the words mark more than the beginning of a new executive assignment. They represent the culmination of more than three decades of growth, responsibility and leadership within Dow, one of the world’s largest materials science companies.
On 1 July 2026, Carter became Chief Executive Officer of Dow, succeeding Jim Fitterling, who transitioned to Executive Chair of the Board. Named CEO-elect in April after serving as Chief Operating Officer, Carter became the first woman and the first Black woman to lead the 129-year-old company, which recorded approximately $40 billion in sales in 2025.
Her appointment is historic, but the story behind it is equally significant. Carter did not enter Dow at the top. She joined as an intern in 1994 and spent more than 30 years building experience across the company before reaching its highest leadership position.
From Intern to the Corner Office
Carter’s journey began with an internship that opened the door to a career spanning more than three decades.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Howard University and a master’s degree in international business from DePaul University. At Dow, she moved through a wide range of assignments across business operations, sales and marketing, human resources and general management.
Her career also included international experience in Asia Pacific and leadership responsibilities across businesses including Building and Construction, Polyethylene, Engineering Thermoplastics, Fabricated Products, Information Technology Equipment and Consumer Electronics.
That breadth of experience would become one of her greatest assets. Rather than developing her leadership in a single function, Carter built an understanding of Dow from multiple sides of the business.
Leading Dow’s Largest Segment
A defining stage in Carter’s career came when she became President of Packaging & Specialty Plastics, Dow’s largest business segment, with more than $23 billion in annual sales.
In that role, she led efforts focused on asset upgrades, capacity expansion, reliability and innovation while advancing the segment’s circular-economy ambitions.
Initiatives included work around REVOLOOP™ recycled resins and INNATE™ packaging resins, the acquisition of Circulus and partnerships focused on feedstock. The experience placed Carter at the intersection of operations, commercial performance, innovation and sustainability.
It also demonstrated her ability to lead a major part of a global industrial business while navigating the changing demands of customers and markets.
A Leader of People and Culture
Carter’s leadership experience has not been limited to commercial and operational responsibilities.
She previously served as Dow’s Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer, giving her a central role in talent, organisational culture and inclusion.
That experience added another dimension to her leadership profile. At the highest level of a global company, understanding people and culture can be just as important as understanding financial performance and operations.
Within Dow, Carter also sponsors the Global African Affinity Network, reflecting her continued engagement with inclusion and employee communities.
The COO Who Became CEO
In December 2024, Carter was appointed Chief Operating Officer, bringing her even closer to the centre of Dow’s overall operations.
As COO, she oversaw the company’s three operating segments as well as supply chain, purchasing, information technology and commercial functions. Her responsibilities included strengthening customer engagement, accelerating the commercialisation of innovation and improving operational reliability.
The COO role effectively positioned Carter for the next stage of her career. By the time she was named CEO-elect, she had already developed an extensive understanding of Dow’s businesses, people, operations and strategic priorities.
Her move to the CEO position was therefore not an abrupt transition but the next step in a long leadership progression.
Taking the Helm at a Challenging Time
Carter assumes leadership at a complicated moment for Dow.
The company is implementing its “Transform to Outperform” restructuring programme, targeting approximately $2 billion in improvements and involving about 4,500 job reductions. Dow is also reviewing its portfolio and taking actions involving European assets while dealing with weak demand and wider economic and geopolitical pressures.
These circumstances mean Carter inherits both a historic opportunity and a demanding mandate.
Her challenge will be to improve efficiency and competitiveness while maintaining the innovation, customer relationships and long-term investments necessary for Dow’s future.
Reliability, Customers and Execution
Carter has made clear that safe and reliable operations will remain fundamental to her leadership.
For a company operating complex industrial facilities and serving customers across global markets, reliability directly affects employees, communities, customers and financial performance.
Alongside operational discipline, Carter has emphasised keeping customers at the centre of Dow’s strategy. Her extensive commercial background gives her a practical understanding of the importance of delivering reliable products while developing solutions that respond to changing customer needs.
Execution is likely to be one of the defining characteristics of her leadership.
Rather than approaching her new role through a rigid checklist, Carter has emphasised focusing on the actions within the company’s control and delivering against commitments already underway.
Balancing Growth and Transformation
Carter’s new chapter will also require a careful balance between transformation and growth.
Dow is pursuing cost and productivity improvements while continuing to focus on high-value markets where it can build competitive advantage. For Carter, the challenge is to ensure that simplification strengthens the business without weakening its ability to innovate.
Sustainability will form part of that equation.
Dow’s Path2Zero ambition, including its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, remains an important part of the company’s long-term direction. Carter must navigate that ambition alongside the need to strengthen cash flow, protect the balance sheet and maintain competitiveness.
A Historic Appointment, A Serious Mandate
Carter’s appointment carries obvious significance for women in global business.
Becoming the first woman and first Black woman to lead Dow places her in a historic position within the company and the broader industrial sector. Yet the significance of her achievement extends beyond representation.
Her career demonstrates the power of sustained professional development. She spent more than three decades acquiring experience across functions, businesses and geographies before arriving at the top.
Her story is therefore not simply about breaking a barrier. It is about being prepared when the opportunity to lead arrives.
A New Chapter for Dow—and for Women in Leadership
Karen Carter now has the opportunity to shape Dow’s next era while drawing on an unusually deep understanding of the organisation.
Her immediate priorities—reliable operations, disciplined execution, customer focus, innovation, sustainability and long-term value creation reflect the realities of leading a global industrial company through transformation.
For women watching from boardrooms, laboratories, factories and business schools around the world, her journey offers an important lesson: leadership at the highest level is often built long before the title arrives.
From a 1994 internship to the CEO’s office in 2026, Karen Carter has spent more than three decades building the experience that brought her to this moment.
Amazons Watch Magazine congratulates Karen S. Carter on her historic appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Dow and celebrates this remarkable new chapter in her leadership journey. Her achievement represents not only a milestone for Dow, but also a powerful reminder of what sustained excellence, experience and purposeful leadership can make possible for women at the highest levels of global industry.
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