Ashland appoints Dr Osama Musa to newly created position of Chief Technology Officer

With an increased focus on driving innovation, Ashland Inc has announced that Dr Osama Musa, VP, global research and development (R&D), has been promoted to the newly created position of Chief Technology Officer. He also assumes leadership responsibility for Advanced Materials.

Recently while leading R&D for Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Musa focused on ingredients and solutions for global consumer and industrial markets with responsibility for the company’s global technology platforms including Molecular and Measurement Science, Process Research, Biofunctionals, Acrylates and Microencapsulation, Upstream Research, Preservatives and Microbial Technology.

With this appointment, Musa becomes responsible for the overall coordination of Ashland’s technical resources and will lead the Ashland Technology Council, which will drive technical excellence across the company. He will also lead a Multifunctional Innovation Team, which will further enhance the innovation pipeline, metrics and processes for driving new products faster into the market.

Ashland acquired International Specialty Products (ISP) in 2011 where Musa had been employed since 2008. Previously he held technical and leadership positions at National Starch/ICI and Henkel. He holds more than 50 issued US patents and has authored numerous technical publications.

"Osama continuously demonstrates passionate leadership focused on solving tough consumer challenges,” said Luis Fernandez-Moreno, Ashland Senior Vice President and President of the Chemicals Group. "He has lead the integration of Ashland’s core technology platforms to deliver unique solutions to our customers in markets as diverse as pharmaceutical, personal care, nutrition and coatings to name a few. I am confident that under his leadership, our teams will be able to further develop unique solutions that will continue to differentiate Ashland and enhance growth.”

Dr Musa earned a PhD in organic chemistry from Wayne State University, Michigan, where he also completed a post-doctoral fellowship. He received an MS in polymer chemistry from the University of Detroit Mercy, an MS degree in heterocyclic organic chemistry from the University of Jordan and a B.S. in chemistry from Yarmouk University, Jordan.