Bret Snyder Named President & CEO of W.L. Gore & Associates

October 6, 2020—W. L. Gore & Associates announced that Bret Snyder, Chair of the Gore Board of Directors, will succeed Jason Field in the role of President and CEO effective October 9, 2020.

Dr. Snyder, a grandson of Gore’s founders Bill and Vieve Gore, is the third generation of Gore family members to serve in the dual role of president and board chair. In September, the company announced the death of Mr. Snyder's uncle, Robert W. “Bob” Gore, chairman emeritus of the Board of Directors, at the age of 83.

According to the company, Dr. Snyder joined Gore in 2008 and has served in various technical and leadership roles. He will continue to serve as the chair of the board, a position he has held since 2016.

Before joining Gore, Dr. Snyder worked at Rohm and Haas, where he developed technology and served as a business and operations leader for the AgroFresh subsidiary. He earned a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Washington College of Engineering in Seattle, Washington, and a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Mr. Field, who will remain with the company through December 2020 to support a smooth transition, commented in the announcement, “I have enjoyed my 16 years as a Gore associate and am really proud of what we have accomplished together these last 3 years—in particular, increasing associate engagement and growing sales and earnings, including through the pandemic challenge. Bret and I have worked closely together over the last few years and I am confident Bret is uniquely positioned to lead Gore. He is especially close to the Gore values and culture that have made our enterprise successful and are important to its continued success.”

Dr. Snyder stated, “I have the utmost respect for Jason’s leadership of Gore the last few years and have enjoyed working with him. He has embodied leading with integrity and has demonstrated a deeply personal commitment to the success of our enterprise, our products, and our associate. I am honored to assume leadership of the enterprise at this time and continue the positive momentum we have underway at Gore.”