Armstrong Flooring's John Hillenbrand Named Chairman of Industrial Research Institute

New Members to the Board of Directors also named at Annual Meeting

Orlando, FL (May 26, 2016): Dr. John B. Hillenbrand, Jr., Vice President of R&D at Armstrong Flooring was named chairman of the board of directors of the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) at their Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. The ceremonial passing of the gavel was held yesterday evening at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista during the closing ceremony.

“John’s depth of expertise across the business of innovation is an excellent fit for our leadership needs,” said Ed Bernstein, IRI President. “As an organization promoting cross industry collaboration and the development of best practices in managing innovation, we are proud to welcome John as our next Chairman and look forward to his leadership.”

Before moving to Armstrong Flooring as VP of R&D, Dr. Hillenbrand was the Chief Innovation Officer of Owens Corning where he led innovation across the global building materials and composite solutions businesses. He also serves on the College of Engineering Advisory Board and the College of Engineering Committee of 100 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Prior to his seven years at Owens Corning, Dr. Hillenbrand spent 23 years at DuPont in various global business and innovation roles including vice president of innovation and technology for DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers, and as Director of DuPont Ventures. Dr. Hillenbrand holds a BS from Virginia Tech and Master’s and Doctorate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, all in Chemical Engineering.

“Organizations like IRI are vital to the success of industry,” said Dr. Hillenbrand. “How we lead the people and manage the processes of innovation greatly impact everyone’s level of success. The opportunity to take an active leadership role among my industry peers is a great honor.”

Dr. Hillenbrand is the acting Chairman of IRI as of May 25, 2016. Dr. Tom Kavassalis, Vice President, Strategy and Alliances, the Xerox Corporation, becomes IRI’s immediate Past Chair. Dr. Louis Gritzo, Vice President and Manager of Research, FM Global, becomes Vice Chair.

Other board directors elected for full terms starting May 25 are:

• Dr. Stephen P. Johnson, Director, R&D, Timken Company
• Mr. Anthony D. Nickens, VP, Ceramatec, Inc.
• Mr. Craig Robertson, VP, R&D, National Gypsum Company
• Mr. Robert T. Williams, Program Manager, Platform Innovation, Boeing

Board directors continuing their terms are:

• Dr. Sherri L. Bassner, VP, Chemicals Services, Intertek USA, Inc.
• Mr. K. Andrew Kintz, Business Development Manager, LORD Corp.
• Dr. John F. Reid, Director, Enterprise Product Technology and Innovation, Deere & Co.
• Dr. Joseph R. Fox, Director, Emerging & External Technologies, Ashland, Inc.
• Mr. Mark Matlock, SVP, Food Research, Archer Daniels Midland
• Dr. Richard L. Michelman, CTO, Michelman, Inc.
• Ms. Karen Milley, VP, R&D, Consumer Foods, J.M. Smucker Company

About the Industrial Research Institute (IRI)

The Industrial Research Institute (IRI) is an organization of 200+ industrial and service companies having a common interest in the effective management of technological innovation. IRI member companies span diverse industries and represent a substantial portion of our nation’s gross domestic product. IRI is the only cross-industry organization creating innovation leadership solutions and best practices in innovation management developed through collaborative knowledge creation. For more information, call 703-647-2580 or visit www.iriweb.org.