The “Dream Team”

Change Agents: The “Dream Team” of Industrial Gas Industry Legends Eduardo Menezes & Dennis Reilley

Eduardo Menezes is a distinguished leader in the industrial gases sector with more than three decades of experience at the best run industrial gas companies in the world.  He most recently served as the EVP of EMEA for Linde Plc (formerly Praxair, Inc. and Union Carbide), and spent his last 11 years at Linde and Praxair as a direct report to the CEO and Chairman.

Dennis Reilley is a renowned industrial gas industry executive who previously served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Praxair, Inc. (now Linde plc). Mr. Reilley is widely considered the architect of Praxair’s best-in-class model, which is distinguished by its culture of empowerment and accountability, relentless cost discipline, rigorous and strict capital allocation program, and focus on risk-adjusted returns. This model is the “gold standard” of the industry and drives consistently strong shareholder returns. During Mr. Reilley’s tenure at Praxair, he achieved best-in-class total shareholder returns, revenue growth, EBIT growth, EBIT margins, and returns on invested capital. Mr. Reilley also established a strong succession plan, positioning Praxair for continued success.

Change Agent: Eduardo Menezes

Is recognized as a distinguished leader in the industrial gases sector, having spent over three decades in key leadership roles at Linde Plc (formerly Praxair, Inc. and Union Carbide), the world’s largest industrial gas company. 

During his tenure at Praxair, he served at various points as the senior-most operating executive in each global region within the firm. Following Praxair’s merger with Linde, Mr. Menezes served as the EVP of EMEA, a critical region in the transformation, and led a 550-basis-points improvement in the operating margin of the segment. As EVP of EMEA he was responsible for the operations of more than 40 countries with more than $8B in sales and 18,000 employees. Mr. Menezes’s last 11 years were as a direct report to the CEO and Chairman, and he was a nominated executive at Praxair for the 5 years leading up to the merger.

Mr. Menezes was a key member of the team proposing, negotiating and obtaining regulatory approval of the merger of Praxair Inc with Linde AG. When the transaction was approved, he moved to Munich as Executive Vice President for the EMEA region, covering more than 40 Countries with more than $8B in sales and 18,000 employees. There he was responsible for starting the restructure of the former Linde AG EMEA business, and achieved a 550-basis-points improvement in the operating margin of the segment. 

From 2010 to 2018 Mr. Menezes worked at Praxair’s HQ in Danbury, CT. For the first 5 years he was focused on the North America businesses, first as President of the On-Site and Merchant Businesses in US and Canada, followed by Senior and then Executive Vice President accountable for all operations in North America. At these positions, Mr. Menezes led more than $2B in acquisitions of packaged gases and beverage CO2 retail businesses. In addition to the on-going expansion of the atmospherics on-site business, Mr. Menezes also led Praxair’s expansion of its Hydrogen and CO business in the US Gulf Coast which tripled in size during the 2010’s decade. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Menezes was named Executive Vice President for international operations (Asia, Europe and Latin America), maintaining accountability for the US Hydrogen Business. During this period, he worked on the continuous improvement of these operations and prepared the businesses for the divestitures and integration required to close the 2018 Merger with Linde.

Mr. Menezes holds an M.B.A. from the State University of New York and a chemical engineering degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Change Agent: Dennis H. Reilley


Has unparalleled experience as a senior executive at several major multinational, capital-intensive companies, with deep chemical, industrial, and energy sector experience.  

Most recently, Mr. Reilley served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Praxair, Inc., a worldwide industrial gases company now part of Linde plc (NASDAQ: LIN), from 2000 until his retirement in 2007. During Mr. Reilley’s tenure at Praxair, he achieved best-in-class total shareholder returns, revenue growth, EBIT growth, EBIT margins, and returns on invested capital, and he established a strong succession plan for continued success resulting in an approximately 16% annual TSR compounding (36x) over 24 years since he started at Praxair.

While at Praxair, Mr. Reilley was the architect of growth in the company’s hydrogen business. He led the development of the firm’s first steam methane reformers and the improvement of steam methane reforming technology, built the first hydrogen cavern by an industrial gas company and the second ever in the country, and greatly expanded the firm’s hydrogen pipeline network. 

Mr. Reilley has held several senior positions at E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company (NYSE: DD), including: Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company; Executive Vice President; Vice President and General Manager of its Lycra business; Vice President and General Manager of its specialty chemicals division; and Vice President and General Manager of its titanium dioxide division; and as a senior executive at Conoco Inc (NYSE: COP).

Mr. Reilley also has vast public company board experience, including having served as Chairman of the Board of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) and as Chairman of the Board of Covidien (NYSE: COV).  Mr. Reilley has also served on the boards of DuPont de Nemours, Inc., CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), H.J. Heinz & Co. (NYSE: HNZ), and Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), serving as a member and in leadership positions on several board committees.  His experience on boards across a wide range of industries provides him with substantial expertise on complex public company business and governance issues.

In 2011, Forbes Magazine named Mr. Reilley as one of the best performing CEOs of the decade, and in 2005, during his tenure with Praxair, Inc., Fortune Magazine named the company as the best managed company in America.  Mr. Reilley was also named best CEO in America in Basic Materials and Specialty Chemical Sector of the Fortune 500 companies from 2003 to 2007 by Institutional Investor Magazine. Additionally, in 2008, the Society of Chemical Industry awarded him the Chemical Industry Medal for lifelong distinguished service.  

Mr. Reilley earned his B.S. in finance from Oklahoma State University.

Our Nominees

Andrew
Evans

Former CEO/COO of AGL Resources (NYSE: AGL) and CFO of Southern Company (NYSE: SO)

Paul
Hilal

Founder and CEO of Mantle Ridge LP

Tracy
McKibben

Founder and CEO of MAC Energy Group

Dennis
Reilley

Former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Praxair, Inc. (now part of Linde, Plc) (NASDAQ: LIN)

“Mantle Ridge has added two former Linde Executives (Dennis Reilly and Eduardo Menezes) to reshape APD’s sustainability growth strategy. This “Dream Team” could make a difference in the battle for control given strong track records and experience.”

– Wells Fargo, 10/15/2024

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