Herbert (Ted) Doan, businessman, philanthropist and the last Dow family member to serve as chief executive officer of Dow Chemical, the company founded by his grandfather in 1897, died on May 16. He was 83.

Mr Doan brought together disparate parts of the company into a more efficient and growth-oriented organisation, including rapid expansion outside the US. He set the ambitious goal of growing earnings by 10% per year. By the time of his retirement the company had met that goal, the best record of any major chemical company at the time.

After retiring from the company, Mr Doan immediately founded Doan Associates, a venture capital firm, and later Doan Resources Corporation, a small business investment company.

Among his many public service and philanthropic activities, he served as chairman of The Herbert H and Grace A Dow Foundation, was chairman of the Michigan Molecular Institute, co-chairman of then Governor John Engler’s Venture Capital Task Force and president of the Michigan High Technology Task Force. He also served on the National Science Board and on the Board of the Office of Technology Assessment in Washington. He served on the advisory board of the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering and on the University of Chicago’s Board of Governors for the Argonne National Laboratories and was a founding member of the ARCH Development Corp.