Robert K. Wagner is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Koppers Industries Inc., a $500 million producer of coke, wood, and tar products. He joined the former Koppers Company in 1953 and moved through the ranks to various general manager and vice presidential positions. He became President and CEO in 1988 and was named Chairman and CEO in 1994 of this firm which has 23 production facilities in 18 states.
In 1988, Mr. Wagner led a management buyout when Koppers Company was immersed in financial difficulties and a hostile takeover by British tycoon Brian Beazer. Mr. Wagner and the other manager-investors put their own personal finances at stake to engineer the buyout.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Koppers Industries, Inc. more than doubled their net income in 1995 under Mr. Wagner’s leadership and austerity program.
Robert Wagner earned his B.S. in Business Administration at the University of Notre Dame and his M.B.A. at the University of Pittsburgh. A Pittsburgh native, he is married and the father of four grown children.