Gelest Appoints Jim Whitlock COO

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Gelest Inc. has appointed Jim Whitlock to the newly created position of Chief Operations Officer, effective immediately, to deepen its senior leadership team in conjunction with the company’s continuing growth. 

“Jim has over 30 years of experience in the silicone business, including roles as senior vice president and corporate vice president with Dow Corning in its Core Products Business and Global Manufacturing & Engineering Operations, and he is joining Gelest at a pivotal time,” said Ken Gayer, chief executive officer of Gelest.  “The expansion of our senior leadership team reflects Gelest’s commitment to operational excellence and growth as a globally-recognized leading innovator and manufacturer of highly value-added advanced materials.  With Jim’s appointment, we look forward to improving customer satisfaction and operational performance in every respect and accelerating our growth in advanced technology end markets with the support of our partners at New Mountain Capital.”

Whitlock joins Gelest from Honeywell, where he served as vice president of Integrated Supply Chain for their Performance Materials & Technology business Group. 

“I look forward to working with my new colleagues, driving operations excellence to position the Company for profitable and sustainable growth, and positively contributing to the Company's strategic priorities. I am excited to apply my extensive experience to help the Company achieve greater results and drive value," said Whitlock.

Whitlock graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree from The Ohio State University.

About Gelest

Gelest, Inc., headquartered in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, is an innovator, manufacturer, and supplier of silicones, organosilanes, and metal-organics for advanced technology end markets including medical device, life sciences, microelectronics, personal care, and advanced coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers (CASE) markets. The company helps customers win by assisting them in the development and supply of chemistry to solve their most challenging materials science problems and enable their new product technology.

About New Mountain Capital

New Mountain Capital is a New York based investment firm that emphasizes business building and growth, rather than debt, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, public equity, and credit funds with over $20 billion in assets under management. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies.