Leigh Thompson

Leigh Thompson is a senior technology scout, responsible for identifying, screening, prioritizing and pursuing a variety of emerging technologies and assessing their viability as business opportunities. Leigh joined The Dow Chemical Company in 1997 where she worked in a variety of corporate and business research and development (R&D) roles, including oxygenated solvents, acrylic monomers, epoxies, and polyurethanes. Most recently she led the Corporate R&D Strategic Implementation group, responsible for implementing key strategic programs across leveraged corporate R&D resources (comprising a significant fraction of Dow’s $1.7 billion R&D budget), as well as working with counterparts in business R&D groups, universities and external partnerships to drive strategic programs and facilitate delivery on Dow’s growth commitments. Leigh received her B.S. (1993) and Ph.D. (1997) in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University (ISU) in 1993 and 1997. In 2008 she also earned her MBA from the DeVos/Dow Executive MBA and received the Professional Process in Engineering Award (PPEA) from Iowa State University