Shane Hostetter. | PHOTO COURTESY OF CHEMOURS
WILMINGTON — Chemours has named a new chief financial officer five months after the company suspended three top executives after an accounting probe.
Shane Hostetter will join the company on July 1, after serving more than a decade with the Pennsylvania-based chemical company Quaker Houghton. At Quaker Houghton, Hostetter has served as the chief financial officer since April 2021 but spent 13 years with the company in various leadership roles such as vice president of finance, chief accounting officer and global controller.
“Shane is a welcome addition to the Chemours team. With over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of finance and a deep understanding of the chemicals industry, Shane is uniquely positioned to drive long-term value for shareholders,” Chemours President and CEO Denise Dignam said in a prepared statement.
Before his time at Quaker Houghton, Hostetter started his career as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers and eventually held several financial leadership roles at Pulse Electronics Corporation, a publicly traded global manufacturer of electronic components.
Matt Abbott, who has served as Chemours interim finance chief since February, will return to his prior role of senior vice president and chief enterprise transformation officer, according to Chemours leaders.
“Matt has been an incredible partner and invaluable member of the executive team,” Dignam said. “I want to thank Matt for his leadership and willingness to take on the Interim CFO role at such a critical juncture for the company. His contributions have been integral to strengthening the foundation of how we operate and moving Chemours forward.”
Hostetter, 43, will earn a base salary of $600,000 as well as a signing bonus of $50,000, according to the company’s U.S. Security and Exchange Commission filings. He will also be eligible for a bonus of up to 75% of his annual base salary and long term incentives up to $1 million.
Hostetter’s appointment is among the first major moves made by Dignam since Chemours placed former CEO Mark Newman, Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Lock and Chief Accounting Officer Camela Wisel on administrative leave amid an internal investigation.
The company’s board conducted an internal audit into the company’s financials and ethics hotline reports. When the internal probe ended in early March, it appeared that the previous executives altered the appearance of the company’s cash flow targets to trigger the company’s executive incentive plan. Chemours’ free cash flow drove about 40% of the $1 million bonus that Newman himself received.
Lock, Chemours previous CFO, left the company on April 23 without any additional compensation. Newman and Chemours parted ways after signing a separation agreement.
