W L Gore & Associates recently announced that Bret Snyder, chair of the Gore board of directors, will succeed Jason Field in the role of president and CEO effective 9 October 2020. Jason will remain with the enterprise through December 2020 to support a smooth transition.
“I have enjoyed my 16 years as a Gore Associate and am really proud of what we have accomplished together these last three years—in particular, increasing Associate engagement and growing sales and earnings, including through the pandemic challenge,” said president and CEO Jason Field. “Bret and I have worked closely together over the last few years, and I am confident Bret is uniquely positioned to lead Gore. He is especially close to the Gore values and culture that have made our Enterprise successful and are important to its continued success.”
Bret brings 25 years of experience in research, innovation, and entrepreneurial growth to the role of president and CEO, with successes both inside and outside Gore. Since joining the Enterprise in 2008, Bret has served in various technical and leadership roles throughout his career at Gore. Bret will continue to serve as the chair of the board, a position he has held since 2016. As the grandson of Gore’s founders Bill and Vieve Gore, Bret is the third generation of Gore family members to serve in the dual role of president and board chair.
“I have the utmost respect for Jason’s leadership of Gore the last few years and have enjoyed working with him. He has embodied leading with integrity and has demonstrated a deeply personal commitment to the success of our Enterprise, our products and our Associates,” said Bret Snyder, chair of the board. “I am honoured to assume leadership of the Enterprise at this time and continue the positive momentum we have underway at Gore.”
Bret’s initial commitment upon joining Gore was in the Core Technology function, developing new materials for all the product divisions and working to expand Gore’s material science capabilities. He went on to join the PharmBIO business as a new product development engineer. Bret then served as technical leader for the portable electronics venting business, where he led through winning several large orders that significantly increased sales. Prior to joining Gore, Bret worked at Rohm and Haas, where he developed technology and served as a business and operations leader for the AgroFresh subsidiary. Bret holds a PhD in chemical engineering from University of Washington College of Engineering and a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Brown University.
