Ashland Inc. has announced the appointment of Sanat Chattopadhyay, executive vice president of Merck & Company to its Board of Directors. Chattopadhyay will serve on the Board's Environmental, Health, Safety, and Quality and Governance and Nominating Committees, effective November 13, 2023. Prior to Merck, Chattopadhyay held leadership positions at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Aventis, Hoechst Marion Roussel and Hoechst India.

As previously announced, Jay V. Ihlenfeld who has served as a director since 2017, and Brendan M. Cummins, who joined the board in 2012 have decided not to stand for re-election at Ashland?s Annual Stockholders Meeting in January 2024. With the addition of Chattopadhyay, Ashland temporarily increases the size of the Board to 11 members until the next Annual Stockholders Meeting in January 2024. Chattopadhyay is a broadly experienced global executive who brings strong industry leadership in manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, and more.

He has led complex operations that span 22 countries including cutting-edge manufacturing technology while successfully navigating the ever-changing, globally complex, and heavily regulated industry of biopharmaceuticals.