Alumnus Raj Gupta ’72, Drexel trustee, member of The Drexel 100 and chairman, president and CEO of Rohm and Haas Company, is Drexel’s 53rd Business Leader of the Year. He will receive his award at a luncheon on November 30 at noon at The Park Hyatt Philadelphia at The Bellevue.

Philadelphia-based Rohm and Haas is an international developer of technologies and solutions for the specialty materials industry, including building and construction; electronics; household and personal care; water, food and retail; and paper. The company’s 2005 sales were approximately $8 billion. Gupta has been with Rohm and Haas since 1971. He was named Rohm and Haas’ chairman and CEO in 1999 and assumed the role of president in 2005.

Gupta, who has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in Operations Research from Cornell University, earned his MBA in finance from LeBow College of Business in 1972. He is a member of the boards of Tyco, The Vanguard Group, the American Chemistry Council, and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. He was inducted into The Drexel 100 in 2000.

The Business Leader of the Year luncheon benefits the students of LeBow College. The 2005 event, honoring C.R. “Chuck” Pennoni ’63, ’66, Hon. ’92, chairman of the international engineering firm Pennoni Associates Inc., raised more than $400,000 in scholarships and capital support in Pennoni’s name. For more information on the 2006 Business Leader of the Year luncheon, contact Marc Britton at 215-895-2999 or marc.r.britton@drexel.edu.