While Dow Chemical Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris was disappointed at President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, he was not discouraged about the era of renewable energy.
"Look at our renewable energy already, with how many jobs it has. The solar, wind and bios. We're going to keep supporting that. This is advantage America," the CEO told "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer on Friday.
Liveris, who also heads Trump's manufacturing council, acknowledged the trade-offs inherent in moving the country towards using energy that produces less carbon, a key contributor to climate change.
"Can we keep all of our energy jobs? No. But can we manage the transition? Yes," Liveris said. "I think this president, he just wants to manage the transition so coal miners don't get hurt overtly. There is a base of people out there. Look, we've got to respect the fact that he's the leader of the country. I believe that we've got to stay engaged to get the better answers."
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Staying engaged has been a pillar of Liveris' strategy during his 14 years as CEO of Dow Chemical, a strategy he seems to be employing in the White House.
"After 14 years of doing this job, you stay engaged so you can change someone's mind, so you can get them to the right place, so you can have better outcomes," Liveris said. "Maybe that's too optimistic. I believe you can be optimistic here."
And as Dow prepares to merge with its former rival DuPont, Liveris is staying more engaged than expected.
Instead of retiring in June 2017 as was previously planned, he will remain CEO until the merger closes in August, then become executive chairman of the merged entity until April 2018, then chairman until July 2018, at which point he will retire.
"I will go on and do other things," he assured Cramer, adding that he sees himself as a "business builder." "But I want to see enough of the deal through to get this value we promised our shareholders."
Categorizing the massive deal as a "game-changer," Liveris seemed confident in its execution, which will involve a merger followed by a split into three companies: one involved in agriculture, one in materials, and one in specialty products.
And as Dow continues to create thousands of U.S. jobs by taking advantage of low-cost natural gas, Liveris said he will strive to continue voicing ideas to the president on how he feels the country should move forward.
"America has to stand tall. We will stand tall as a business community," Liveris said. "I'm very compelled to represent all my stakeholders across the world, and if I have the privilege of this position – I could get fired – but if I have the privilege of this position, I will definitely keep putting that viewpoint into the White House."
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