Avient Corporation

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to AVN Corporation's webcast to discuss companies' fourth quarter and full year 2023 results. My name is Norma, and I'll be your operator for today. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. We will have a question-and-answer session following the company's prepared remarks. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded for replay purposes. I would now like to turn the call over to Joe DeSalvo, Vice President, Treasurer, and Investor Relations. Please proceed.

Thank you, and good morning to everyone joining us on the call today. Before beginning, I'd like to remind you that statements made during this webcast may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements will give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. They're based on management's expectation and involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results or differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the investor presentation for this webcast for a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ. During the discussion today, the company will use both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the presentation posted on the AVN website where the company describes the non-GAAP measures and provides a reconciliation for historical non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Joining me today is our President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ashish Kanpur, and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Jamie Beggs. We also have Bob Patterson, who is serving in a transition advisory role with the company. Bob will briefly make some opening remarks before we start the discussion on performance. I will now hand the call over to Bob to begin.

Thanks, Joe, and good morning, everyone. Last November, I announced my plans to retire and pursue my lifelong passion for teaching and spending more time doing that at the University of Michigan, my alma mater. Today, I have the privilege of introducing Dr. Ashish Kampur, who succeeds me as Avian's new president and chief executive officer. Ashish took over on December 1st and brings a fresh perspective to our specialty portfolio that has undergone a tremendous transformation over the past decade. Ashish joined us from 3M, where he spent 28 years. A chemical engineer by education and trade, he began his career there and rose to become chief technology officer of the company. Over those nearly three decades, he distinguished himself as a brilliant scientist, innovator, and ultimately a proven business leader and operator. His last role at 3M was group president of transportation and electronics, a $9 billion business. It's a business he took into high growth and markets with new technologies and applications, which is exactly where Avian is focused. I have been with the company almost 16 years in total and nearly 10 as CEO. During that time, we have upgraded our portfolio by divesting commodity businesses and reinvesting the proceeds in two transformational and 17 bolt-on acquisitions. We are the number one leading color formulator in the world. We have built a composites portfolio from scratch, which includes Dyneema, the world's strongest fiber. We've completely transformed where EVA does generated from and now have 100% of our businesses dedicated to formulating specialty solutions. I look back on my time with the company with a lot of pride and appreciation for what we accomplished. The transformed portfolio is a perfect springboard for Ashish to elevate Avian to the next level of performance. I'm confident he will drive profitable growth and create long-term value for our shareholders. His background and experiences are perfect for the next era in Avian's journey. To our associates, shareholders, and board of directors, I thank you for your support and trust during my tenure. I now leave you in very capable hands with Ashish, Jamie, and the 9,500 associates at Avian I've had the pleasure of working with.