Elizabeth T. Hirsch
Elizabeth T. Hirsch has served on our Board of Directors since December 2018. She is currently retired. Ms. Hirsch served as vice president and controller of Praxair, Inc., a supplier of industrial gases and coatings and related healthcare services and technologies, from 2010 until her retirement in August 2016. In that role, she was responsible for Praxair’s global financial statement consolidation and SEC reporting. Prior to becoming controller, Ms. Hirsch served as Praxair’s director and then vice president of investor relations from 2002 until 2010. In that role, she was recognized as the best investor relations professional in the chemicals sector by both buy-side and sell-side analysts in a 2011 Institutional Investor Survey. Ms. Hirsch joined Praxair in 1995 as director of corporate finance and later served as assistant treasurer. Prior to joining Praxair, she had fifteen years of experience in corporate banking, primarily at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. Ms. Hirsch also serves on the board of trustees of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, a nonprofit organization providing services and leadership in the field of behavioral health. She is a member of Devereux’s executive committee, finance committee (chair), audit and compliance committee and clinical committee. Ms. Hirsch is also a trustee of the Helena Devereaux Foundation. In addition, she serves on the board of directors of the Women’s Business Development Council of Connecticut, a non-profit organization providing education, technical and financial assistance to small business in Connecticut.
Ms. Hirsch’s educational background (MBA in finance from New York University) and her years of experience as a senior accounting and finance executive in a large publicly-traded corporation provide the Board of Directors with valuable additional insight in the areas of accounting and finance, including financial statement preparation, internal controls, SEC reporting, and financings similar to the Company’s outstanding indebtedness, as well as in the area of environmental sustainability reporting. She also brings investor relations expertise to the Board, including an understanding of the perspective of institutional investors.