Frank Popoff or Frank Popov (; October 27, 1935 – February 25, 2024) was a Bulgarian and American businessman. He served as the chairman of
TCF Financial Corporation
TCF Financial Corporation, an acronym for Twin City Federal, was a bank holding company based in Detroit, Michigan. Its operating subsidiary, TCF Bank, operated 478 branches in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin, Ohio, and South ...
from April 2004.
Biography
Born in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, Bulgaria, on October 27, 1935, Popoff emigrated in 1941 with his father and mother, Eftim and Stoyanka Popoff and his sister Joan to
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...
. He attended Terre Haute Wiley High School in Terre Haute, graduating in June 1953. He then attended college at Indiana University, graduating with an A.B. in chemistry in 1957, and an MBA from IU's
Kelley School of Business
The Kelley School of Business (KSB) is an undergraduate and graduate business school for Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana University Indianapolis. As of 2022, approximately 13,538 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are enr ...
in 1959. He was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity.
While in graduate school, he married Jean Urse, a graduate of the IU College of Education on August 30, 1958. They had three sons.
Popoff died in Midland on February 25, 2024, at the age of 88.
Career
Popoff joined The Dow Chemical Company in 1959 and served in technical service and development, sales and marketing positions prior to becoming general manager of the Agricultural Products Department, president of Dow Chemical Europe in Zurich, Switzerland, and returning to Dow's Midland, Michigan, headquarters in 1985 to become chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors.
Popoff was the chief executive officer of The Dow Chemical Company from December 1987 to November 1995, and chairman of the board from December 1992 to November 2000. He was a director of Chemical Financial Corporation from 1989 to 2006 and chairman from 2004 to 2006. He has served as director of American Express Co., Qwest Communications International Inc., United Technologies Corp. and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. and was director emeritus of the Indiana University Foundation. He was also a member of the
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
and served as a member of both the
Business Roundtable
The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major U.S. companies. Unlike the United States Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, ...
and
The Business Council
The Business Council is a nonpartisan organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
*1990 -
Northwood University
Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution.
History
Northwood Universit ...
, Doctorate (honorary).
*1992 - Leadership Award of the
United States Council for International Business
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
Petrochemical Heritage Award
The Petrochemical Heritage Award was established in 1997, "to recognize individuals who made outstanding contributions to the petrochemical community." The award is intended to inspire achievement and to promote public understanding. The award w ...
.
See also
*
List of Indiana University (Bloomington) people
This is a list of notable current and former faculty members, alumni, and non-graduating attendees of Indiana University Bloomington in Bloomington, Indiana.
Presidents of Indiana University
Academics
* R.J.Q. Adams, B.S., 1965, professor ...