Air Products names new legal head amid top-team reshuffle continues

US industrial gas major Air Products has appointed Matthew Lepore as Executive Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer.

Effective 18 August, Lepore will report to CEO Eduardo Menezes.

Lepore brings more than two decades of legal and compliance leadership to the role, having held roles at chemical companies BASF SE and BASF Corporation, the biopharmaceutical company Pfizer, and the US Department of Justice.

Most recently, he served as group general counsel and chief compliance officer at BASF SE.

Menezes welcomed Lepore to the team. “Matt is a seasoned executive and respected leader with a track record of driving efficiency, developing teams, and upholding excellence across legal, transactional, and governance disciplines,” he said.

The news follows Sean Major’s resignation as General Counsel and Secretary as of 11 July.

In his first quarterly earnings call, Menezes issued a return to basics message to investors, focusing on lower-capex projects with long-term offtake agreements.

The shift marks a departure from predecessor Seifi Ghasemi’s high-capex, first-mover strategy, which activist investor Mantle Ridge had accused of “dramatically underperforming.”