Only in America : From Immigrant to CEO

The United States is the land of opportunity and a society unique in the history of the world. It is only in America that an immigrant could create a new life. Only in America could someone arrive speaking fewer than fifty words of English and work through the ranks to become the CEO of a major company. This someone is Paul Oreffice and this is his story?the American story. It begins in Italy, 1939. Mussolini is in power, and fascism is the rule of the day. Paul's father has not come home for twelve days, and his mother anticipates the worst. In fact, the fascist police have severely beaten Paul's father and thrown him in a tiny cell. For the sake of his family, Paul's father wins the heart of one of his jailers, who places an anonymous call to Paul's mother, relaying, ?Your husband is alive.? Thus begins the adventure that brings Paul and his family to America by way of Switzerland first and then Ecuador, escaping to that country only eight days before Italy enters World War II.

PAUL OREFFICE was born in Venice, Italy, in 1927. In 1940 he moved with his family to Quito, Ecuador, and in 1945 came to the USA. He went directly to Purdue University where he graduated in February 1949 with a BS in Chemical Engineering.After two years in the US Army, Paul joined The Dow Chemical Company in February 1953. After a variety of international and management assignments, he became the president and CEO of the company in April 1978. He later added the title of chairman of the board. He retired in December 1992.Paul has served on the boards of CIGNA, Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley, and Nortel. He is currently the chairman of Fairfield Homes and is on the board of Spirit Finance Corporation. He is also the chairman of The National Parkinson Foundation and on the visiting board of MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is the only recipient ever of all three medals awarded periodically by the world chemical industry.He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona; Lake Tahoe, Nevada; and Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife, JoAnn. He has two children and four grandchildren.