Frank P. Popoff has earned an international reputation for distinguished corporate leadership. He completed an undergraduate degree in chemistry and a master's degree in business in the same year, both at Indiana University. He has credited his alma mater with shaping his thinking and making him an advocate of education and technology.
Popoff joined the Dow Chemical Company in 1959 and worked his way through the corporate structure from various sales positions to director of marketing, general manager, executive vice president, and then president of Dow Chemical Europe, and gained an appreciation of the universality of the chemical industry. He was brought back to the United States as executive vice president, later becoming the company's president and chief executive officer.
Popoff has been credited with restructuring Dow Chemical into a multi-faceted company, effectively addressing, over the years, the issues of competitiveness, corporate credibility, education, environment, technology, trade, and profitability. He kept very close ties with IU, maintaining several friendships from his college days, and serving on the Dean's Advisory Council of the School of Business and the governing board of the IU Foundation.
