SI Group's New CEO Promises to Listen Before He Leads

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SI Group, a maker of performance additives, process solutions and chemical intermediates based in The Woodlands, Texas, changed chief executives on October 19, 2026. Marcello Boldrini took over that day from David Bradley, who had been president and CEO since 2019. Boldrini already lives in the Houston area and will work from the company's headquarters, which spares him at least one item on the usual new-CEO checklist: finding the office.

A transformation specialist arrives

Boldrini brings more than three decades in specialty chemicals and materials across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Most recently he was chief executive and a director of Kraton Corporation, a Houston-based specialty chemicals company, where he set up a Transformation Office credited with more than $100 million in annual EBITDA improvements. Earlier he held senior roles at Houghton International, Momentive/Hexion and Ashland. Board member Daryl Roberts welcomed him by pointing to his record in growth, transformation and operational improvement.

What stands out is how Boldrini described his opening months. Rather than announcing a bold plan on day one, he said his first focus would be listening and learning: spending time with employees and customers and working with the leadership team to set clear business priorities. Safe and reliable operations, disciplined execution and customer value, he said, will stay at the center. It is a refreshingly modest promise from someone whose last job involved finding nine figures of savings.

Thanks for the hard years

Board member Shawn Abrams thanked Bradley for steering the company through significant change and difficult industry conditions, including the 2025 recapitalization that strengthened its finances. SI Group runs 18 manufacturing plants on three continents, serves customers in more than 80 countries and employs about 1,500 people, supplying plastics, rubber and adhesives, fuels, lubricants, coatings and oilfield markets. Customers and suppliers were told to keep working through their usual contacts, a small but telling sign that the board wants the handover to feel uneventful.