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Mr. Mitchell is responsible for consumer markets, including the Valvoline division's worldwide business of automotive lubricants, chemicals, and appearance products, as well as the division's growth in the quick-lube business. He also oversees the continued development of innovative premium products.
He joined Ashland in 1997, as director of marketing for Valvoline's brand management group. In August 1999, he was named vice president of marketing, and in 2000 he was named vice president and general manager of the division's DIY (do-it-yourself) retail business. Mitchell is credited with the marketing success of MaxLife®, a first-of-its-kind motor oil designed specifically for the lubricating needs of high-mileage vehicles, introduced in 2000. He was named president of Valvoline and a vice president of Ashland in 2002.
A Birmingham, Mich., native, Mitchell earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, in 1983 and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago in 1988. He is a 2005 graduate of the Harvard Business School's Advance Management Program. Prior to joining Ashland, he held brand and category management leadership positions at The Clorox Company for eight years.
He currently serves as board member of the following organizations: the University of Kentucky Business Partnership Foundation, the Fifth Third Bank of Kentucky, Voice for Humanity, and the National Association of Manufacturers. He also coaches soccer and is active in his church and the United Way. | 