Suzanne Thompson, who has spent three decades as an innovative research and development executive in the cleaning products industry and was a leader within the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), is the recipient of the 2016 ACI Elva Walker Spillane Distinguished Service Award.
 
Ms. Thompson worked in Research & Development at The Clorox Company for 29 years. Her roles at Clorox included Vice President R&D, Growth Labs, as well as leading global technology, design, and open innovation.   
 
Suzanne also had roles leading Cleaning and Specialty Division R&D teams for Clorox. She has had experience in process development, product development and packaging development for divisions such as Kingsford Charcoal, Laundry, Home Care, Auto, Foods, Litter and Professional products.
 
In 2015, Suzanne joined Sealed Air in 2015 as Vice President R&D for Diversey Care. She also leads the Outstanding Corporate Innovator Award Committee for the Product Development Management Association (PDMA) and is on the PDMA’s board of directors.
 
“During her many years at Clorox, Suzanne Thompson played an important leadership role within ACI,” said Ernie Rosenberg, ACI President and CEO. “She served as Chair and Vice Chair of our Strategic Advisory Committee over a four-year span, helping to shape the development and execution of strategies that strengthened ACI’s role as the trade association for the cleaning product supply chain. She also assisted our efforts to rebrand the association in 2010.
 
“ACI also benefitted from Suzanne’s leadership, advice and counsel in the development of our performance surveys to help ensure we continually deliver value for the member companies of ACI. We greatly appreciate the countless hours Suzanne devoted to our association and the industry at-large.”
 
A native of Missouri, Suzanne holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
 
ACI’s Distinguished Service Award is named in honor of the late Elva Walker Spillane, the former National Purity LLC chief executive who served on the association’s Board for 20 years. The award honors an individual for extensive or exceptional service to ACI, who promoted the growth and interests of the Institute and the industries it represents; and who exercised outstanding leadership within ACI.
 
Ms. Thompson received the award during the 2016 ACI Convention.