CAS CONNECT 2019

F rankWicks earned two OSU degrees — a 1975 bachelor’s in microbiology and a 1978 doctorate in biochemistry. At OSU, he was very involved in the leadership of the Navigators, a campus religious group. Upon graduation, he and his wife, Elvesta, moved with their daughter to Colorado Springs to teach part-time at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and work for the Navigators at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The following year, they moved to Boulder to work for the Navigators at the University of Colorado. In 1982, Sigma-Aldrich Corp. of St. Louis hiredWicks as a chemist in research and development, and in 1994, he became president of the Sigma Chemical division. Sigma-Aldrich was a publicly traded life science company with 10,000 employees in over 40 countries. It was the premier provider of research chemicals with over 200,000 chemicals used by universities, campaigns; hired and developed seven of the 15 key leadership teammembers; and developed and implemented database marketing and pricing systems. During his 30-plus years with Sigma-Aldrich, Wicks earned a reputation for making a significant impact to the company. Merck Kga bought Sigma-Aldrich for $17 billion in 2015. Wicks also served on the advisory boards of Chemical & Engineering News and the International School of Business at St. Louis University. He is vice chairman of the board of trustees of Covenant Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America and serves on the board of directors of CASS Information Systems. FRANK WICKS Retired Executive Vice President and President of Applied Markets Sigma-Aldrich Corp. B.S. Microbiology ’75 Ph.D. Biochemistry ’78 pharmaceutical and industrial companies. Wicks assumed a brief role in 1998 as vice president of worldwide operations. The following year, he went through Harvard Business School’s AdvancedManagement Program. Then he and the company’s chief operating officer developed a strategy that was the basis for the company’s revenue tripling to almost $3 billion by 2015. Throughout his career, Wicks filled the following roles at Sigma-Aldrich: • president of Sigma Chemical • vice president, worldwide operations • president of scientific research • president of fine chemicals • president of research • executive vice president and president of applied markets He was known as the company’s culture leader, with a focus on the value of the individual and core values of respect and dignity; led multiple acquisitions and integrations; launched major marketing and rebranding CAS HALL OF FAME 34 CONNECT 201 9