Dennis H. Reilley has resigned as executive vice president and COO of DuPont to become president, CEO and a director of Praxair.

WILMINGTON, DE — Dennis H. Reilley has resigned as executive vice president and COO of DuPont Co. to become president, CEO and a director of Praxair Inc., an industrial gases business. Reilley will succeed H. William Lichtenberger as CEO, effective March 15, and will become chairman when Lichtenberger retires in November.

Reilley joined DuPont’s former Conoco unit in 1974 and has held a series of key management positions, including vice president and general manager of Specialty Chemicals and vice president of the White Pigment and Mineral Products business. He was appointed executive vice president and COO with responsibility for Pigments and Chemicals, Specialty Polymers, Nylon, and Polyester, in May 1999.