Jay Ihlenfeld retired as Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific for 3M in 2012. While in this role, he was based in Hong Kong and was responsible for 14 3M subsidiaries and regional support facilities. During his 34-year career with 3M, he held numerous positions, including Senior Vice President, Research and Development; Executive Vice President, Sumitomo/3M; and Vice President, 3M Performance Materials Division. Besides Hong Kong, Dr. Ihlenfeld has been posted in Germany, Belgium and Japan.
Brother Ihlenfeld was initiated into the Indiana Theta Chapter at Purdue in 1971 and received his BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue in 1974. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 1978 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In 2001, he was the recipient of the Outstanding Chemical Engineering Award and Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from Purdue. He received the Distinguished Service Citation from the College of Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004.
Dr. Ihlenfeld is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Celanese Corporation and Ashland Global Holdings. He is a member of the Industrial Advisory Board, College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the Engineering Advisory Council, College of Engineering at Purdue University. He also serves on the Board of the Minnesota Orchestra.
His interests include cross-cultural collaboration and leadership effectiveness, building global competitiveness and encouragement of STEM education. Jay and his wife, Cynthia, divide their time between the Twin Cities and the Palm Springs area.