Rajiv Banavali is VP of Huntsman R&D

Huntsman Textile Effects has announced the appointment of Rajiv Banavali as its new Global Vice President of Research and Technology, effective August 10. Rajiv joins the Textile Effects senior management as part of its global leadership team and will report directly to Rohit Aggarwal, President Textile Effects.

Banavali joins Huntsman from Honeywell International where he held several research and development leadership roles including his most recent, as Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, with its Advanced Materials division. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the development and execution of R&D strategies and the advancement of innovation platforms for both product and process technology roadmaps. Banavali has proven success in leading large, global research organizations in the development and commercialisation of technologies in the area of speciality chemicals, both at Honeywell and at his previous employer, Rohm & Haas.

“As the global textiles industry transitions to new business models in an increasingly competitive and tightly regulated environment, it is now more important than ever that Huntsman Textile Effects remains innovative, flexible and close to our customers. We are extremely pleased to have in Rajiv, a highly experienced candidate with a global outlook and an acute commercial acumen, to lead a critical area of our business, focusing on advancing our sustainability agenda while progressing the research and innovation of our product portfolio,” said Aggarwal. Banavali holds a Ph.D in Organic Chemistry from the University of Missouri, USA. Banavali will be based in Singapore and will relocate from New Jersey, USA. Banavali succeeds Sarada Namhata who is retiring after five years in the role.