James A. Sullivan has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Koppers Holdings Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Koppers Inc., and Leslie S. Hyde has been named senior vice president and chief sustainability officer of Koppers Inc. Both appointments are effective January 1, 2020.
In June 2013, Sullivan joined Koppers as vice president business development of Koppers Inc. From April 2014 to May 2018, he served as senior vice president global carbon materials and chemicals (CMC), Koppers Inc., and from May 2018 through December 2019 he served as senior vice president railroad products and services and global carbon materials and chemicals, Koppers Inc.
Before joining Koppers, Sullivan served as senior vice president Americas at Calgon Carbon Corporation, holding various management positions in the areas of operations, marketing, sales, and research and development.
Hyde joined Koppers in 1999 as manager of environmental affairs and continued to progress into various leadership roles that included safety, health and environmental responsibilities. From November 2017 through December 2019, she served as vice president corporate strategy and risk management, Koppers Inc.
Prior to joining Koppers, she held various manufacturing and consulting roles and served 10 years on active duty with the United States Army.
"Jim Sullivan has done an amazing job of leading the turnaround of our CMC business over the last five years and is the ideal person to take on leadership of Koppers operations. His ability to analyze complex issues and implement action plans with a strong sense of urgency, combined with his talent for motivating people, will help take our company to the next level,” said President and CEO Leroy M. Ball said.
"It is time for Koppers to add a senior role in sustainability and we are fortunate that we have someone as talented and passionate about the subject as Leslie Hyde. We have made great strides over the last five years in creating a more sustainable company, but we still have numerous opportunities to expand our efforts in this area. With my support, she will champion those efforts and push our company to reach for more aspirational targets to position us for long-term success,” Ball added.