Praxair Names New Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
11/14/2014 - Praxair Inc. announced that senior vice president, general counsel & corporate secretary, Jim Breedlove, will retire on 27 February 2015, after 10 years of service with Praxair.
Guillermo Bichara, currently associate general counsel & assistant secretary, will succeed Breedlove as vice president, general counsel & corporate secretary effective 1 January 1. Breedlove will serve in an advisory capacity to the company from 1 January until 27 February.
Bichara will lead Praxair’s legal, compliance & ethics, and government affairs departments and will report to Praxair chairman and CEO Steve Angel.
“Guillermo brings critical global experience to his new role as general counsel,” Angel said. “Since joining Praxair, Guillermo has spent much of his career working in our international businesses and has made a great impact as a leader, business confidant and a legal expert.”
Bichara joined Praxair in 2006 as director of legal affairs at Praxair Mexico. One year later, he was named vice president and general counsel of Praxair Asia, a position he held for four years. In 2011, he was named associate general counsel with responsibility for Praxair Europe and Praxair Mexico. In 2013, Bichara was promoted to associate general counsel & assistant secretary. Prior to joining Praxair, he was corporate counsel at CEMEX, Mexico’s global leader in the building materials industry, and was a foreign associate and counsel, respectively, at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and White & Case. Bichara holds a law degree from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and master of laws (LL.M.) degree in international legal studies from New York University, and is admitted to practice in New York and Mexico.
Praxair Inc., a Fortune 250 company with 2013 sales of US$12 billion, is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, primary metals and many others.
Bichara will lead Praxair’s legal, compliance & ethics, and government affairs departments and will report to Praxair chairman and CEO Steve Angel.
“Guillermo brings critical global experience to his new role as general counsel,” Angel said. “Since joining Praxair, Guillermo has spent much of his career working in our international businesses and has made a great impact as a leader, business confidant and a legal expert.”
Bichara joined Praxair in 2006 as director of legal affairs at Praxair Mexico. One year later, he was named vice president and general counsel of Praxair Asia, a position he held for four years. In 2011, he was named associate general counsel with responsibility for Praxair Europe and Praxair Mexico. In 2013, Bichara was promoted to associate general counsel & assistant secretary. Prior to joining Praxair, he was corporate counsel at CEMEX, Mexico’s global leader in the building materials industry, and was a foreign associate and counsel, respectively, at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and White & Case. Bichara holds a law degree from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and master of laws (LL.M.) degree in international legal studies from New York University, and is admitted to practice in New York and Mexico.
Praxair Inc., a Fortune 250 company with 2013 sales of US$12 billion, is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, primary metals and many others.
