PolyOne Shareholders Approve All Proposals at the 2016 Annual Meeting, Robert M. Patterson Becomes Chairman of the Board

CLEVELAND, May 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL), a leading global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, today held its 2016 annual meeting of shareholders, during which time all presented proposals before shareholders were approved.

Actions included the re-election of the following ten individuals to serve on the company's Board of Directors until the 2017 annual meeting: Richard H. Fearon, Gregory J. Goff, William R. Jellison, Sandra Beach Lin, Richard A. Lorraine, Robert M. Patterson, William H. Powell, Kerry J. Preete, Farah M. Walters and William A. Wulfsohn.

Also taking effect at the meeting was the transition of the Board chairman role from Stephen D. Newlin to Robert M. Patterson, who now serves as chairman, president and CEO of PolyOne Corporation. On March 15, 2016, Mr. Newlin announced he had decided to retire from the Board and therefore is not standing for re-election at the annual meeting. 

"Steve has admirably served PolyOne and its many stakeholders over the last decade, transforming the portfolio and culture to create a specialty growth company. We offer our most sincere appreciation for his leadership and wish him all the best," said Richard H. Fearon, who serves as lead director on PolyOne's Board.  "At the same time, the Board is extremely pleased to have Bob Patterson take on the additional role of chairman."

Reflecting on his role as chairman and CEO, Mr. Newlin said, "It has truly been an honor for me to serve PolyOne's many stakeholders over the last 10 years. PolyOne's Board and leadership team remain strong and committed, and I know there will be continued specialty transformation, innovation, growth and value creation well into the future."   

Mr. Patterson commented, "We are off to a great start this year, with first quarter adjusted EPS up 22% over the first quarter of 2015.  This performance is a direct result of following the four-pillar strategy that Steve introduced and that we continue to believe is the right one for PolyOne. It is a privilege to follow in his footsteps."

About PolyOne

PolyOne Corporation, with 2015 revenues of $3.4 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions. The company is dedicated to serving customers in diverse industries around the globe, by creating value through collaboration, innovation and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Guided by its Core Values, Sustainability Promise and No Surprises Pledge^SM, PolyOne is committed to its customers, employees, communities and shareholders through ethical, sustainable and fiscally responsible principles. For more information, visit www.polyone.com.

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Forward-looking Statements

In this press release, statements that are not reported financial results or other historical information are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. They are based on management's expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. They use words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial condition, performance and/or sales.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: our ability to realize anticipated savings and operational benefits from the realignment of assets, including the closure of manufacturing facilities; the timing of closings and shifts of production to new facilities related to asset realignments and any unforeseen loss of customers and/or disruptions of service or quality caused by such closings and/or production shifts; separation and severance amounts that differ from original estimates; amounts for non-cash charges related to asset write-offs and accelerated depreciation realignments of property, plant and equipment, that differ from original estimates; our ability to identify and evaluate acquisition targets and consummate acquisitions; the ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses into our operations, including whether such businesses will be accretive to our earnings, retain the management teams of acquired businesses, and retain relationships with customers of acquired businesses; disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets that could adversely impact the availability of credit already arranged and the availability and cost of credit in the future; the financial condition of our customers, including the ability of customers (especially those that may be highly leveraged and those with inadequate liquidity) to maintain their credit availability; the speed and extent of an economic recovery, including the recovery of the housing market; our ability to achieve new business gains; the effect on foreign operations of currency fluctuations, tariffs and other political, economic and regulatory risks; changes in polymer consumption growth rates and laws and regulations regarding the disposal of plastic in jurisdictions where we conduct business; changes in global industry capacity or in the rate at which anticipated changes in industry capacity come online; fluctuations in raw material prices, quality and supply and in energy prices and supply; production outages or material costs associated with scheduled or unscheduled maintenance programs; unanticipated developments that could occur with respect to contingencies such as litigation and environmental matters; an inability to achieve or delays in achieving or achievement of less than the anticipated financial benefit from initiatives related to working capital reductions, cost reductions and employee productivity goals; an inability to raise or sustain prices for products or services; an inability to maintain appropriate relations with unions and employees; our ability to continue to pay cash dividends; the amount and timing of repurchases of our common shares, if any; and other factors affecting our business beyond our control, including, without limitation, changes in the general economy, changes in interest rates and changes in the rate of inflation. The above list of factors is not exhaustive.

We undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K that we provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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SOURCE PolyOne Corporation

Investor Relations Contact: Eric R. Swanson, Director, Investor Relations, PolyOne Corporation, +1 440-930-1018, eric.swanson@avient.com; Media Contact: Kyle G. Rose, Vice President, Corporate Communications, PolyOne Corporation, +1 440-930-3162, kyle.rose@avient.com