New vice-president of global environment, health and safety

Owens-Illinois (O-I) has announced that Deborah Hockman has been named Vice-President of Global Environment, Health and Safety (EHS).

In the new position, Hockman will lead O-I’s global efforts to enhance the company’s safety, environment compliance and health processes, standards and metrics. She also will serve as global safety program leader, driving the company’s worldwide efforts to create an accident-free workplace - one of O-I’s sustainability initiatives.

“While O-I’s safety and environmental practices are already solid, we’re aiming higher. The continued safety of our people is paramount,” said Rich Crawford, Chief Technology and Operations Officer. “With Deborah’s leadership and experience, we will further enhance our safety and environmental processes, standards and metrics.”

Hockman brings more than 25 years of experience in environment, health, safety and technical management to her new position at O-I. She spent more than a decade at waste and environmental services provider Waste Management, where she led more than 200 engineers, chemists and other professionals in the company’s environmental monitoring laboratories. Her five years as vice-president of EHS, analytical services and government relations at specialty chemical company Nalco yielded a 40% improvement in the company’s safety performance. Most recently, she was a professor at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill., where she created and launched a new interdisciplinary degree program in business and science, and also taught courses in business sustainability and chemistry.

Hockman has a doctorate in analytical chemistry from Loyola University Chicago and a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Northeastern Illinois University.