Avient Names UPL Chief Mike Frank as President and CEO
The materials-solutions company kept 2026 adjusted EPS guidance at $3.10 to $3.25 after a second-quarter beat of $0.96.
Avient Corporation (AVNT), a provider of specialized and sustainable material solutions, appointed Mike Frank as President and Chief Executive Officer effective immediately, replacing Dr. Ashish K. Khandpur, who stepped down and will remain in an advisory role through December 31, 2026.
The board also elected Richard H. Fearon, lead independent director, as Non-Executive Chairman. Frank, who has been chief executive of UPL Corporation since 2022, spent 25 years at Monsanto, most recently as global chief commercial officer, and later led Nutrien Ag Solutions.
Fearon said Frank’s combination of operational discipline and commercial expertise “will help accelerate market adoption of Avient’s deep product pipeline and drive continued margin expansion across our specialty portfolio.” Frank said his priority would be to sharpen execution with the board and management while advancing the company’s materials-solutions mission.
The leadership change came with a reaffirmation of the full-year and third-quarter 2026 financial guidance the company had issued on August 6, 2026. Avient intends to release third-quarter 2026 earnings before the market opens on November 4, 2026, with a webcast at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
That August guidance had already been lifted after a second quarter in which sales grew 5.8% to $917 million, including 4.3% organic growth and 1.5% favorable foreign exchange, with organic growth in both business segments. Adjusted EPS was $0.96, up 20% from a year earlier and above the $0.89 outlook the company had set after the first quarter. The beat was primarily driven by better-than-expected organic volume growth.
Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 110 basis points to a record 18.3% in the second quarter, after a 20-basis-point expansion to 17.7% in the first quarter. Khandpur, then chairman, president and chief executive, said organic sales growth was driven by market share gains, new product innovation and pricing.
Full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $3.10 to $3.25 from $2.93 to $3.17, a range representing 10% to 15% growth over the prior year. Full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance moved to $575 million to $603 million from $555 million to $585 million. Those are the ranges now being reaffirmed alongside the new chief executive.
Cash generation in the second quarter supported $50 million of debt repayment. Avient expects to repay a total of $100 million to $150 million of debt during 2026.
First-quarter 2026 sales had grown 3% to $847 million, including a 5% favorable foreign-exchange impact, and adjusted EPS of $0.83 had exceeded guidance of $0.81 with 9% growth over the year-ago quarter. At that time, Avient had left full-year adjusted EPS guidance unchanged and had described the second-half outlook as less certain.
The second-quarter print reversed that pause: Avient lifted both the adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA ranges and pointed to visibility into third-quarter demand. The August outlook is the one the board is carrying into Frank’s tenure.
Fearon said Khandpur “repositioned the company with a new strategic plan, recruited significant talent to our team, has significantly upgraded the Company’s research and development activities, and delivered consistent financial results.” Frank’s UPL tenure included a transformation of operations at a global agricultural-solutions company operating in more than 130 countries.
Avient’s expanding portfolio includes colorants, advanced composites, functional additives, engineered materials and Dyneema. The company employs more than 9,000 people worldwide.
The board’s stated aim, as Fearon put it, is that Frank’s focus on execution will position Avient to “continue to build momentum and deliver on our objectives” as the company works through the rest of 2026 under the reaffirmed ranges.