Stepan Company appointed Ruben Velasquez as vice president and chief financial officer, effective July 15. He succeeds Samuel Hinrichsen, who has been serving as interim CFO and will continue as vice president of finance.

Velasquez most recently served as vice president global finance transformation at 3M. He previously held senior finance roles at 3M, including vice president global finance and CFO manufacturing and supply chain operations, and vice president global finance and CFO consumer business. He also served as finance director and country CFO for 3M Russia and 3M Colombia.

Earlier in his career, Velasquez held finance leadership positions at Ecopetrol in Colombia. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Universidad de Los Andes.

“Ruben brings over two decades of global finance leadership experience across diverse industries, including industrial conglomerates and the oil and gas industry,” said Luis E. Rojo, president and chief executive officer of Stepan. “We are excited to add Ruben’s leadership and financial expertise to the Stepan team. We also thank Sam for all of his contributions while serving as interim chief financial officer.”