Ellen Kullman, 55, is chair of the board and chief executive officer of DuPont.  She is the 19th executive to lead the company in more than 208 years of DuPont history.

Ellen became CEO on Jan.1, 2009, and chair of the board on Dec. 31 that year.  She was president from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008.  Prior to that, she served as executive vice president and a member of the company's office of the chief executive.

As CEO, Ellen has championed market-driven science to drive innovation across the company’s businesses.  Under her leadership, decision making has moved closer to customers around the world, resulting in greater partnering, collaboration, and solutions attuned to local needs.

A native of Wilmington, Del., Ellen began her career at DuPont in 1988 as a marketing manager.  She served as business director for several businesses including White Pigment & Mineral Products where she became vice president and general manager in 1995. She assumed leadership of two high-growth businesses, DuPont Safety Resources in 1998 and Bio-Based Materials in 1999.  She was named group vice president - DuPont Safety & Protection in 2002.  In 2006, she was named executive vice president with responsibility for three business platforms and several functions including Marketing & Sales.  In 2008, she was tapped to lead the company's focus on growth in emerging international markets.

She is a member of the U.S.-India CEO Forum, the Business Council, and the executive committee of SCI-America.  She is co-chair of the National Academy of Engineering Committee on Changing the Conversation: From Research to Action.

Ellen is a member of the board of directors of United Technologies Corp.  She also is on the board of trustees of Tufts University and serves on the board of overseers at Tufts University School of Engineering.

Prior to joining DuPont, Ellen worked for General Electric. She holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Tufts University and a masters degree in management from Northwestern University.