Gayer Appointed CEO of Gelest

Materials supplier Gelest Inc. has appointed Ken Gayer as its CEO.

Gayer brings more than 20 years of global chemical industry leadership experience to his new role at Gelest. Most recently, Gayer served as business president of Honeywell Specialty Products of Honeywell International. Prior to his latest role, he had a long tenure at Honeywell in a variety of leadership positions including vice president and general manager at Honeywell Fluorine Products; vice president of procurement, customer service, trade compliance, transportation and logistics; and global business director of foam and industrial products. Prior to Honeywell, Gayer held leadership roles at McKinsey & Co. and the Polaroid Corp., and served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine Force.

Gayer holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a master’s degree in chemical engineering from MIT and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

In his role as CEO, Gayer will oversee Gelest’s operations across its product portfolio and end markets. Predecessor Barry Arkles, who founded Gelest in 1991, will remain with Gelest as chief technology officer and as chairman of the board of directors.

“We enthusiastically welcome Ken to Gelest,”Arkles said. “Ken has extensive leadership experience in our field, and he has a proven track record of driving excellence across commercial and operations functions. His leadership will serve Gelest well in its next phase of growth.”

“Gelest is an established leader in silane, silicone and metal-organic chemistries, with a more than 25-year legacy of innovation and deep customer partnerships,” Gayer said.“ I am excited about this opportunity, and I look forward to working closely with our employees, customers, suppliers and communities in the years to come.”

Gelest is a manufacturer and supplier of commercial and research quantities of organosilicon compounds, metal-organic compounds and silicones.