Lion Elastomers names new president, CEO

Port Neches, Texas – Lion Copolymer Holdings’s board of directors has appointed Kho Irani as the president and chief executive officer, effective 1 Nov.

He will replace long-time president and CEO Jesse Zeringue who stepped down from the position late August.

Irani joins Lion after more than 17 years at ExxonMobil where he held a variety of management positions, including roles as global marketing manager of EPDM and global tire technology manager.

“We are very pleased to have someone with Kho’s broad experience in the polymer industry join Lion,” said Thomas Wells, a Lion director.

Irani, he said, will provide “the leadership required to allow Lion to continue to grow as a leader in the elastomers business.”

Dr David Ward, who took over the interim leadership of the company since Zeringue's departure, will continue his role as chief technology officer and vice president of research & development.

Irani holds a BS in chemical engineering from Rice University and has an MBA from the McCombs school of business at the University of Texas.