Rainer Blair vs Thomas Williams

Rainer Blair

CEO of Danaher

BIO: Rainer Blair is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Danaher Corporation. Beginning September 2020, Rainer has led Danaher’s $22B global, multi-industry portfolio of businesses. With the help of Danaher’s 69,000 global associates, he is focused on further strengthening Danaher’s position as a leading science and technology company. Rainer is a dedicated leader and practitioner of the Danaher Business System, the company’s pre-eminent operating model and cultural foundation. He is deeply committed to the company’s Core Values and Shared Purpose: Helping Realize Life’s Potential. He has been a principle architect of Danaher’s associate engagement strategy and Diversity + Inclusion journey. “Throughout Danaher’s history we have focused on exceeding the expectations of our shareholders, customers and associates globally. With a strong portfolio, experienced leadership team, and the power of the Danaher Business System, we have a bright future ahead.” Rainer brings more than 30 years of deep and diverse experience to his current role. Rainer joined Danaher in 2010 and held leadership roles across several operating companies before being named Executive Vice President of Danaher’s Life Sciences platform in 2014. Through a combination of organic and inorganic growth investments, he helped Danaher build a portfolio of Life Sciences businesses uniquely positioned to reduce time to market and cost of biologic drugs. Under his leadership, the Life Sciences platform annual revenues increased five-fold to approximately $10 billion today. Prior to Danaher, Rainer was President and CEO for MAPEI Americas, a $2.3 billion global, diversified construction chemical corporation. He previously spent 15 years with BASF Group on three continents with progressively larger leadership roles. He is U.S. Army veteran. He earned his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst and his M.S. from Boston University. Rainer and his wife Alaine live in Alexandria, VA, and have three adult children.

Thomas Williams

CEO of Parker Hannifin

BIO: Previous to his most recent position, he was Executive Vice President and Operating Officer with responsibility for Parker’s Aerospace, Engineered Materials, Filtration, Instrumentation and Asia Pacific groups, along with the Strategic Pricing department. Mr. Williams has demonstrated successful leadership in two of Parker’s operating groups, as Vice President of Operations for the Hydraulics Group and then President of the Instrumentation Group. Mr. Williams joined Parker in 2003. Prior to that, he held a number of key management positions at General Electric. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a non-profit organization making wishes come true for terminally ill children and a member of the Board of Directors for Chart Industries, a leading independent global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment used in the production, storage and end-use of hydrocarbon and industrial gases. He is also on the Board of Trustees for the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), a leading business research and executive education organization and advocate for manufacturing interests. Mr. Williams earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from Bucknell University and his MBA from Xavier University.