After a 37-year career with Croda, Kevin Gallagher, president of global personal care and actives, has announced his retirement from Croda by the end of 2015. He is proud of his career at Croda and as having been an important part of the global leadership team that created the “the most successful personal care ingredients business.”
Gallagher began as an applications chemist in 1978, and held positions in R&D, QA, sales and marketing before moving into general management in 1989. He is a co-inventor on seven patents held by Croda, all of which resulted in successful commercial products, and has been a leader in fostering innovation at Croda.
While much of his career has been in personal care, Gallagher has made important contributions to other industries. He chaired Croda’s Personal Care Steering Group from its inception in 2004, and became the first president of the company's global personal care and actives business when the group structure was changed in 2014. He also has served as president for Croda's North America from 1999 to present, and on the Executive Committee of Croda International Plc. since 2007.
Gallagher plans to continue his work as a consultant for Croda and other clients. He also plans to remain a non-executive board director for P2 Science, a start-up company specializing in value-added fragrance components made through novel ozonolysis techniques.