A DuPont Chief's Days of Future Passed

摘要

DuPont Chief Executive Officer Ellen J. Kullman prepared for a deal that could redefine her company's future by study ing its distant past. Kullman found inspiration in two out-of-print books that recount how three du Pont cousins took control of the gunpowder maker in 1902 and diversified into plastics and synthetic fibers, risky emerging technologies in those days. "I'm thinking, industrial biotechnology-there could be some parallels there," Kullman told Bloomberg in late December.