Digital Transformation Community Thought Leader Interview: Jerry Grunewald, Vice President of Operations, INVISTA

August 2020

IRI’s Lee Green and Jerry discuss the impact of covid-19 on their digitalization efforts, INVISTA’s focus on the people, processes, and technology elements of digital transformation, and how being a part of Koch Industries impacts their partnerships.

Jerry is currently the Vice President of Operations at INVISTA which is part of Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States.  Jerry leads INVISTA’s Operations Transformation effort, which is focused on delivering value from the Digital Plant of the Future.  He and his team are focused on four workstreams:

• Process Control
• Connected Worker
• Material Flow Automation
• Asset Performance Management

Jerry’s team focuses on unlocking the underlying data in each area to convert data to knowledge, knowledge to action, and action to value.  Prior to this role, Jerry led INVISTA’s global R&D team.  His group developed several breakthough technologies in Nylon 66 intermediates and polymer products and processes that have recently been or are currently being commercialized.

Jerry has worked for INVISTA and its predecessor company (DuPont) since 1989, after graduating with a BA in Chemistry degree from La Salle University (USA), and a Ph.D. in Organometallic Chemistry from the University of Florida (USA).  Over his career, Jerry has had a variety of roles in R&D and Operations and has worked at or led teams at all of INVISTA’s 13 global operations sites.  Jerry is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt.

Jerry and his wife Cindy (also an INVISTA leader) are proud parents of Chris, who is an investment banker in New York City, and Jon, who is a Graduate Student in Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech.  Jerry remains active in the Boy Scouts of America (once a leader, you can never get out) and like all native Philadelphians, is a frustrated fan of the Eagles, Sixers, Phillies, and Flyers.