Wendell P. Weeks is chairman and chief executive officer of Corning Incorporated. He was named chief executive officer in April 2005, and chairman of the board in April 2007. He has been a member of the company’s board of directors since December 2000.
Weeks began his career with Corning in 1983 in the corporate control group and moved through a variety of financial and business development roles. He then progressed through commercial and general management leadership positions in the company’s television and specialty glass businesses.
In 1993, Weeks was named general manager of external development in Corning’s telecommunications business. In this role, he executed the company’s “tip to tip” strategy, building Corning’s leading global position in passive optical hardware and equipment products. He was named vice president and general manager of the company’s optical fiber business in 1996. In early 2001, Weeks was named president of Corning’s optical communications businesses, leading them through both dynamic market growth and the subsequent challenges of market declines.
Weeks was named president and chief operating officer of Corning in April 2002. As president, he led the company’s restructuring and return to profitability following the most challenging period in Corning’s 158-year history.
Weeks is a graduate of Lehigh University and earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University as a Baker Scholar. He serves on the board of directors at Merck & Co. Inc., the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Corning Incorporated Foundation. He is also a trustee of Lehigh University and a member of the International Advisory Council for the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University.