SAN FRANCISCO – Jan. 19, 2016 – Connell Brothers, the largest marketer and distributor of specialty chemicals and ingredients in Asia-Pacific, has named Azita Owlia president of Connell Brothers, a Wilbur-Ellis company. Owlia was promoted from vice president to president upon Ted Eliot’s retirement at the end of 2015.

During Owlia’s tenure as vice president of North Asia, she developed and implemented a multi-year growth strategy for the region. This included both a new structure for business development efforts to accelerate new sales, as well as refocusing on core strategic segments. In her new role, Owlia will spearhead the next phase of growth for Connell Brothers throughout Asia-Pacific and across all segments, including coatings & ink, construction, food ingredients & nutrition, personal & home care, pharma ingredients and plastics. She will also manage Connell Brothers’ supply chain operations and continue to build on its industry leading reputation for quality and safety.

“Azita has demonstrated strong leadership and a passion to build a dynamic business; this, coupled with her intimate knowledge of our industry, partners, and the region, makes her an inspiring leader,” said John Thacher, president and chief executive officer of Wilbur-Ellis. “Connell Brothers provides innovative technological solutions, supply chain and logistics management, regulatory expertise, and most importantly, always conducts business with integrity. I’m confident Azita will continue this mission.”

Owlia joined Connell Brothers in 2011 as vice president of North Asia. She previously had a very successful 22-year career with Bayer MaterialScience (now known as Covestro), most recently serving as senior vice president, Asia-Pacific, Polyurethane Group.

“I am delighted to be stepping into the role of president following in the footsteps of Ted’s leadership and numerous accomplishments,” Owlia said. “Ted developed a world-class team that now includes over 1100 employees in 47 locations and 17 countries. I intend to continue to grow our position as the leading marketer and distributor of specialty chemicals and ingredients in Asia.”