Jerome Kirkland, Site Manager for the BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions (ECMS) Converse site in Spartanburg County, has been named chairman of the Upstate Workforce Board.
The board builds and maintains a workforce development system that meets the needs of employers of Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union Counties. Certified by the governor every two years, board members represent diverse businesses in Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union counties. Kirkland has served on the board since 2021.
“Jerome Kirkland has been a powerful addition to the board,” said Ann Angermeier, Executive Director of the Upstate Workforce Board. “I knew he would be a model board member when I first met him at the BASF ECMS Converse plant. My goal that day was to convince him to join the Upstate Workforce Board. We are so pleased that he is now the chairman.”
“For the past four years, I have had the great privilege to be part of a board that is playing a major role in creating a better quality of life in our community,” Kirkland said. “As chair, my goal is to keep that momentum going forward.
Kirkland earned his bachelor’s degree as well as his master’s in business administration from the University of Michigan. He has served as the Converse site manager since October 2019, and before that worked as a plant manager at the BASF site in Lincoln Park, Michigan. Before BASF, Jerome worked in various roles in manufacturing over the past 20 years. He is a 2021 graduate of Leadership Spartanburg.
To learn more about BASF’s recycling business, visit www.basf.com/ecms.
