Chemical giant The Chemours Co. appointed Shane Hostetter as its new CFO last week, replacing Jonathan Lock, who resigned in April.
Hostetter will take over the role on July 1 and oversee the chemical maker’s finance, investor relations, corporate development, strategy and enterprise risk management, the company stated in the June 5 release.
He will succeed SVP and Chief Enterprise Transformation Officer Matt Abbott, who served as interim CFO after Lock and two other senior executives were placed on administrative leave in February.
Hostetter will also serve as the principal accounting officer, Chemours stated in the June 5 securities filing.
The new CFO will join Chemours in the wake of an internal financial probe that revealed top executives manipulated over $500 million in vendor payments. The scandal led former CEO Mark Newman to step down in March, as well as Lock’s resignation a month later.
Controller and principal accounting officer Camela Wisel was also placed on administrative leave as a result of the investigation. Chemours Corporate Media and Brand Reputation Leader Cassie Olszewski did not confirm Wisel’s current employment status.
Abbott is currently the interim principal accounting officer, Olszewski said in an email to Manufacturing Dive.
Hostetter spent the last 13 years with chemical maker Quaker Houghton, formerly Quaker Chemical Corp, most recently serving as CFO and SVP, beginning April 2021. Hostetter also served as the VP of finance and chief accounting officer from August 2019 to April 2021, according to his LinkedIn.
Prior to joining Quaker, Hostetter also held financial and accounting roles at electronics component maker Pulse Electronics and began his career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2002.
“With over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of finance and a deep understanding of the chemicals industry, Shane is uniquely positioned to drive long-term value for shareholders,” Chemours President and CEO Denise Dignam said in a statement.
When Hostetter begins his duties on July 1, he’ll receive a $600,000 yearly base salary, a $50,000 signing bonus, a target annual bonus opportunity 75% of his salary, a possible $1 million award incentive and restricted stock units.
Even as Chemours hopes Hostetter brings in a new era of internal financial oversight, the chemical maker may have to defend itself in a courtroom soon over its past misdeeds.
In March, the Teflon manufacturer’s stockholders filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Delaware against the company, Newman, Wisel, Lock, as well as another former CFO, Sameer Ralhan. Ralhan served as Chemours CFO and SVP from June 2019 to June 2023 and left to serve as CFO and SVP at chemical maker Veralto.
The plaintiffs accused Chemours and its former executives of making misleading statements and failing to disclose senior management’s payment manipulations, which led to investors’ economic losses, according to the court filings.
The investors are seeking compensatory damages as well as counsel and expert fees.
