Beginning in the second quarter of its 2020 fiscal year, Ashland will change the manner in which it manages its business, moving from a functionally led organization to one that is focused on business units. According to Ashland, the change recognizes that the company has a diverse portfolio of businesses with different value propositions for the markets it serves. These changes will reportedly enable Ashland to align its business models, resources, and cost structure to the specific needs of each business unit and create greater ownership and accountability for both short- and long-term performance. Ashland also plans to align incentive rewards with business unit performance.
Ashland plans to organize around three primary external reporting segments—Consumer Specialties, Industrial Specialties, and Intermediates & Solvents—as well as a Corporate reporting segment. Each primary segment will serve certain business units as follows:
- Consumer Specialties—Life Sciences, Personal Care & Household
- Industrial Specialties—Specialty Additives, Performance Adhesives
- Intermediates & Solvents—Intermediates & Solvents
The Life Sciences business unit will include Pharma and Health & Wellness, while Specialty Additives will include Coatings and Performance Specialties. Intermediates & Solvents will report the results of Ashland’s Lima, Ohio, facility. The Corporate reporting segment will hold the company’s corporate governance activities and certain legacy matters.
Ashland reports that it plans to implement the core changes during the second quarter of its fiscal 2020, aligning resources, leadership teams, operations, incentives, and financial reporting. Throughout the quarter, the new teams will begin to review and define their respective strategy, business model, and cost structure.
For more information, visit www.ashland.com.
