William R. Downey, Jr.

William R. Downey Jr. is the Co-Chairperson of the Board of the Child Health Institute of NJ (CHINJ). He has served in that role since his election in May of 2023. Giving back to Rutgers is one of Bill’s drivers and those experiences have framed his work with CHINJ and its Board when he was elected to the Board in April 2021.

Downey served on the Board of the Rutgers Business School Alumni Association (RBSAA) from 2007 through 2019 and was an RBS ‘Helpful Executive in Reach’ until 2021. Bill’s RBSAA Board roles included Co-Chairman of the University Outreach Committee, which required him to construct networks within RBA faculty and staff as well as programming.  In October 2011, Bill led a team recognized with the Ernest E. McMahon Award from the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA). The McMahon Award recognizes an alumni event for creative programming excellence; Bill conceptualized the event, and RBSAA hosted it in conjunction with the Education Department of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

Bill is an Advisor to the Head Coach and Team Mentor for the Rutgers University Women’s Golf Team. Downey’s mission is to help Coach Williams deliver on her Team vision: ‘All women get the internship or graduate school admission of their choice.’ In 2019, Coach Williams and RU Women’s Golf recognized Downey with the Don and Penny Pray Service Award for his work in the community, the Rutgers Business School, and the Team. A summary of one of his programs with the Team, written by the then Team’s Co-Captains, appears here: < https://scarletknights.com/news/2020/2/19/eagle-panels-with-womens-golf.aspx>.

His initial attraction to CHINJ was a chance meeting with its Director, Dr. Arnold Rabson and a desire to help his beloved nephew Michael O’Gorman and Michael’s mom, his sister Maggie.  Michael has autism and Bill has seen the range of issues having a child and now an adult with autism as a member of the family and how it effects everything.

Bill is the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Novvi LLC. In this role, he is responsible for the global market and business development activities in the lubricants vertical at Novvi, a specialty chemical producer using innovative technology to create sustainable products. He led, working directly for the CEO, the due diligence efforts for recent strategic investors in Novvi, including partner approach, strategic rationale, and detailed case building, which resulted in one closed investment and was the foundation for two others. Contract. Before joining Novvi, Bill was a Partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants LLC, based in its New York and Boston offices. Bill was a member of the Global Oil & Chemicals Competency Center, as well as a member of its North American Management Team. Before Roland Berger, Bill Downey was Senior Vice President, key shareholder, and Head of the Global Energy Practice at Kline & Company, a leading downstream energy consultancy. He started his career with the Royal Dutch Shell/ Group of Companies in technology, lubricants, and chemicals. Through these endeavors, he has more than 40 years of experience in the petroleum and chemical industry. Bill is a global expert in lubricants and petroleum specialty value chains. He has been a frequent speaker and company representative at important industry and trade association meetings. He has addressed and moderated industry conferences in Athens, Bologna, Dubai, London, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Strasbourg, and Warsaw, as well as a range of cities around the US. He also serves as a board member and key employee of Delphi Strategic Services, Inc., a company that he founded in 2013 and serves as a platform for a range of his for-profit activities.

Bill studied chemistry at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey (USA) and holds an MBA from Rutgers Business School (RBS) in Newark, NJ. He lives in West Caldwell, NJ, with his wife, Nancy; they have three sons together. He and Nancy also have a residence in Jupiter, FL, which enables really awful golf and being close to their son, daughter-in-law, and two of their three grandchildren.