Gary Phillips To Join A. Schulman As Chief Commercial Officer

AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A. Schulman, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHLM) announced today Gary Phillips has joined the Company as its chief commercial officer. In this newly created role, which reports directly to the chief executive officer, Phillips (57) will be responsible for driving profitable revenue growth on a global basis. Immediate priorities include creating heightened alignment and accountability within the global sales and marketing teams across product families, as well as helping to accelerate the Company's rejuvenated, customer-centric product innovation initiative.

Prior to joining A. Schulman, Phillips served as the vice president and general manager of Comcast Cable in West Palm Beach, Florida from 2014 through 2016. During his tenure, he and his team of more than 300 sales and support professionals delivered profitable sales and revenues in the commercial marketplace that were consistently in excess of annual target goals. Phillips was instrumental in establishing strong cross-functional relationships across the organization – from product development to operations to sales – to assist the company in delivering the highest level of customer satisfaction.

From 2001 through 2012, he held various roles of increasing responsibility with Centurylink – and its predecessor company Qwest Communications – where he ultimately served as the vice president of business markets/central region. In this capacity, he created a world-class sales organization that utilized an accountability model to drive strong financial growth and continuous improvement in customer satisfaction and sales productivity, among other things. From 2012 until 2014, Phillips was an independent consultant, focusing primarily on sales team optimization and leadership development.

"Throughout his career, Gary has consistently helped organizations maintain a proper alignment with evolving, highly technical customer needs," said Joseph M. Gingo, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "His ability to create impactful relationships with colleagues and customers alike will be critical to our success in reinvigorating our growth plan in fiscal 2017 and beyond."

He began his career as a radio communications representative with Motorola Corporation in 1983, before taking leadership roles with MCI Telecommunications Corp, eSpire Communications and Metromedia Fiber Network/AboveNet Communications. Phillips received a Bachelor of Arts in Managerial Economics from Marietta College.

"I'm excited to join A. Schulman and greatly appreciate Joe entrusting me in this role," said Phillips. "I look forward to directly working with our regional senior vice presidents to drive sales performance and further distinguish the Company as a leader within the industry. With the Company's high-quality products and services, which are underpinned with a strong corporate culture, I believe we are well-positioned to continue to grow with customers."

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 4,800 people and has 54 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman reported net sales of approximately $2.5 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2016. Additional information about A. Schulman can be found at www.aschulman.com.

Cautionary Statements  A number of the matters discussed in this document that are not historical or current facts deal with potential future circumstances and developments and may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts and relate to future events and expectations. Forward-looking statements contain such words as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and include known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which management is unable to predict or control, that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements, and that could adversely affect the Company's future financial performance, include, but are not limited to, the following:

• worldwide and regional economic, business and political conditions, including continuing economic uncertainties in some or all of the Company's major product markets or countries where the Company has operations;
• the effectiveness of the Company's efforts to improve operating margins through sales growth, price increases, productivity gains, and improved purchasing techniques;
• competitive factors, including intense price competition;
• fluctuations in the value of currencies in areas where the Company operates;
• volatility of prices and availability of the supply of energy and raw materials that are critical to the manufacture of the Company's products, particularly plastic resins derived from oil and natural gas;
• changes in customer demand and requirements;
• effectiveness of the Company to achieve the level of cost savings, productivity improvements, growth and other benefits anticipated from acquisitions and the integration thereof, joint ventures and restructuring initiatives;
• escalation in the cost of providing employee health care;
• uncertainties regarding the resolution of pending and future litigation and other claims;
• the performance of the global automotive market as well as other markets served;
• further adverse changes in economic or industry conditions, including global supply and demand conditions and prices for products;
• operating problems with our information systems as a result of system security failures such as viruses, cyber-attacks or other causes;
• our current debt position could adversely affect our financial health and prevent us from fulfilling our financial obligations;
• integration of acquisitions, including most recently Citadel, with our existing business, including the risk that the integration will be more costly or more time consuming and complex or simply less effective than anticipated;
• our ability to achieve the anticipated synergies, cost savings and other benefits from the Citadel acquisition;
• substantial time devoted by management to the integration of the Citadel acquisition; and
• failure of counterparties to perform under the terms and conditions of contractual arrangements, including suppliers, customers, buyers and sellers of a business and other third parties with which the Company contracts.

The risks and uncertainties identified above are not the only risks the Company faces. Additional risk factors that could affect the Company's performance are set forth in ITEM 1A, RISK FACTORS, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it believes to be immaterial also may adversely affect the Company. Should any known or unknown risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, or underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, these developments could have material adverse effects on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.

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SOURCE A. Schulman, Inc.