AKRON, Ohio, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A. Schulman, Inc. (Nasdaq-GS: SHLM) announced today that James Irwin has been named Senior Director of Corporate Business Development. In this newly created position, Irwin will be responsible for all aspects of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures globally.

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"As we continue to pursue our strategy to become a premier global specialty chemicals company, identifying and executing unique market opportunities and joint ventures has been and will continue to be vital to our success," said Joseph M. Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of A. Schulman. "We are excited to appoint a dedicated resource to this critical aspect of our strategy and we believe Jim's outstanding mix of corporate and client-advisory business development experience will provide further strength to our team and help us continue our track record of successful acquisitions."

Irwin comes to A. Schulman from Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., where he served in various merger and acquisition and business development roles of increasing responsibility, including Senior Director - Corporate Development and M&A. During his tenure at Cliffs, Irwin led the successful completion of 15 acquisition and divestiture transactions, the vast majority of which were cross-border deals, ranging in size from less than $10 million to nearly $5 billion. Prior to joining Cliffs, Irwin spent 14 years as an M&A advisor and investment banker at KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., where he led the successful execution of 43 M&A and capital-raising transactions.

He received a master's of business administration degree from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Business and a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Toledo.

About A. Schulman, Inc.
A. Schulman, Inc. is a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Since 1928, the Company has been providing innovative solutions to meet its customers' demanding requirements. The Company's customers span a wide range of markets such as packaging, mobility, building & construction, electronics & electrical, agriculture, personal care & hygiene, sports, leisure & home, custom services and others. The Company employs approximately 3,400 people and has 36 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman reported net sales of $2.1 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013. Additional information about A. Schulman can be found at www.aschulman.com.

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SOURCE A. Schulman, Inc.