Bob Hansen joined Dow Corning in 1982 as a cost accountant in Midland, Michigan. In 1988, he relocated to Brazil as regional finance manager. In that role, he designed and implemented a strategy to combat the region’s hyperinflationary economy.

In 1992, Bob returned to the United States as evaluator/controller for Dow Corning’s Rubber Business, directing a multimillion dollar investment in Japan. He was then named director of Finance and Customer Service/Logistics for the Inter-American Area.

Bob became manager of the South America Region in 1996, with direct responsibilities for regional commercial and operational activity. Under his leadership, South America became the fastest growing region within Dow Corning. After serving as Global Fluids product line manager and Global Procurement director, Bob was named executive director of the Global Construction Industry Group. As a member of the Global Commercial Council, he co-led the development of Dow Corning’s solutions strategy to better enable the company to meet customer needs, exactly. In 2002, he was named European president and oversaw Dow Corning’s organization, operations and governance in that area.

Bob played a key role in the creation and design of the innovative and highly successful XIAMETER? brand offering – a web-based business model designed for customers who want efficiency in purchasing high quality products at market-driven prices. He also led the development of a new business strategy for the global construction industry that resulted in a strong growth portfolio and increased market penetration, after almost a decade of declining growth. Bob was named vice president and general manager of the Core Products Business in 2005 and was subsequently named executive vice president. He became president in 2010 and chief executive officer in 2011.