Dow Is Splitting Power At The Top—And It Could Change Everything!

Dow Inc. has announced what appears, at first glance, to be a textbook CEO succession: Karen Carter, a 30-year company veteran and current Chief Operating Officer, will take over as Chief Executive Officer, while longtime CEO and Chair Jim Fitterling transitions to Executive Chair. The move has been framed as the culmination of a multi-year succession planning process, signaling continuity and stability at the top. However, a closer examination of both the announcement and the company’s latest earnings call suggests a more nuanced shift underway—one that goes beyond leadership change and points toward a structural redesign of how power, accountability, and execution are distributed within the organization. Rather than a simple handoff, Dow appears to be formalizing a dual-layer leadership model where strategy and execution are deliberately separated.