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CHAIRMAN AND CEO, NEWMARKET, RICHMOND
CHAIRMAN AND CEO, NEWMARKET, RICHMOND
Virginia Business// August 30, 2023//
Gottwald is a third-generation leader of NewMarket, parent company of Afton Chemical and Ethyl. A VMI alumnus, he joined NewMarket in 1984 and worked in its petroleum additives and former plastics businesses before succeeding his father, Bruce, as chairman of the board two decades later.
NewMarket traces its roots to Ethyl Gasoline Corp., a company acquired in 1962 by Albemarle Paper Manufacturing Co., a company run by Gottwald’s late grandfather, Floyd Gottwald. The $190 million deal was described at the time by Forbes as “the largest buyout in history.”
In fiscal year 2022, NewMarket reported net income of $279.5 million, a jump from $190.9 million in 2021. The company sold $2.75 billion in petroleum additives in 2022, up from $2.34 billion in 2021.
A native of Richmond, Gottwald received an MBA from Harvard Business School, and he served in the U.S. Army Reserve in the 1980s.
He has served as a member of the board of governors of the VMI Keydet Club, and currently chairs the VMI Jackson-Hope Board of Overseers.
