Company Snapshot: The Dow Chemical Company is the world’s second largest chemical company, behind only BASF. Dow’s primary industries are chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, agricultural sciences and plastics. In 2005 Dow sold $46.307 billion worth of goods and employed 42,413 people. Basic information Ownership status: Publicly traded Number of employees worldwide: 42,578 Chief executive officer: Andrew N. Liveris Website: Corporate accountability Brief company history: In the 1950s and 1960s, Dow developed a large pesticide and plastics business. Corporate accountability: Environment and product safety: