KENT, Ohio – The College of Business Administration announces Anne Noonan as the featured keynote speaker for the Fall 2019 Global Management Center Speaker Series presented by Citizens Bank. The event will take place on Tuesday, September 10 at the Kent State Hotel & Conference Center in Kent. The talk will begin at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a networking reception.
Noonan is President and Chief Executive Officer of OMNOVA Solutions Inc., an $838 million global producer of emulsion polymers, specialty chemicals and decorative and functional surfaces. Prior to this role, Noonan served as President of OMNOVA’s Performance Chemicals business segment. The business, reorganized under Noonan’s leadership to focus on specialty solutions, develops and produces emulsion polymers and specialty chemicals for a variety of end use applications, including specialty coatings, construction, nonwovens, oil and gas exploration and elastomeric modifiers.
Prior to OMNOVA, Noonan spent 27 years at Chemtura Corporation, a global manufacturer of specialty chemicals. She most recently served as Senior Vice President and President of Chemtura’s Industrial Engineered Products business, which included flame retardants, brominated performance products and organometallic specialties. During her tenure with Chemtura, Noonan held leadership roles across a wide range of disciplines, from strategic marketing to product development and innovation, to mergers and acquisitions and general management.
Noonan began her career as an analytical research chemist for a joint venture between Squibb-Linson and McNeil Specialty Chemical Company. She participated in the development of artificial sweetener Splenda.
Noonan earned a Master of Science degree in organometallic chemistry and a Bachelor of Science Honors degree in chemistry from University College Dublin, Ireland. She serves on the boards of the American Chemistry Council, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and CF Industries, a global leader in nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing and distribution.
“We are honored to host Anne Noonan and know that her vast experience in the field of chemical manufacturing will provide a unique and insightful learning experience for our students,” said Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., College of Business Administration Dean.
The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required at .
Kent State College of Business Administration
's College of Business Administration is among the fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual AACSB accreditation in both business and accounting. The College boasts 10 undergraduate majors, 14 minors and a Professional Sales Certificate program; master's degrees in accounting, business administration (MBA and EMBA), business analytics, and economics; as well as a Ph.D. program with concentrations in accounting, finance, information systems, management and marketing.
The Kent State College of Business Administration ranks as a top business college in Ohio and the number one public university in Northeast Ohio by U.S. News and World Report and is ranked as one of the nation’s Best Business Schools by Princeton Review. The College is committed to sustainability as an advanced Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) signatory and is recognized by the Sales Education Foundation as a top university for professional sales education.
Media Contact:
Joni Bowen, Public Relations and Media Specialist, (330) 672-1279, cell: (330) 221-0637, jbowen1@kent.edu