SOLVAY ELECTRONIC WET CHEMICALS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Alexandre Blum is Solvay's Chief Financial Officer. He was previously Group Controlling Director at Solvay and Finance Director of the Soda Ash & Derivatives business. He played a pivotal role in the financial management of the Group and in the profound transformation of Solvay's Soda Ash activity. He joined Solvay in 1997 and has 20 years of experience in finance across multiple disciplines including strategic planning, resource allocation, shared-services implementation and investor relations. While at Solvay, Mr. Blum has gained significant international experience having worked across France, Russia, China, Singapore, Belgium and has exhibited a steadfast commitment to talent development.
Annette Stube, born in 1967, is an independent Director. She held the position of Executive vice-President and Head of Sustainability at Stora Enso, a provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials and wooden construction. She also sits on the Board of Directors of WWF Denmark and serves as the Chief Sustainability Officer of the Lego Group. She will contribute her expertise in sustainable business and corporate social responsibility. From 2020 to 2023, she sat on the Board of Directors of Fortum Oyj a Finnish mainly state-owned energy company and Europe's third largest producer of carbon-free electricity. Prior to that, in her 11-year tenure as Head of Sustainability at A.P. Moller-Maersk, she established, developed and rolled out the CSR/Sustainability sustainability strategy of the world's largest container shipping company.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Member of the Remuneration Committee
Aude Thibaut de Maisières, born in 1975, is a non-independent Director, Chair of the ESG Committee and Vice-Chair of the Solvay Board. She was appointed member of the Solvay Board in 2020. She is also cofounder and managing director of Sonic Womb, a multidisciplinary medical research venture which she co-founded in 2016, and Board Member of Paradigm Capital Value Fund SICAV, a privately held investment advisory company. In addition, Ms. Thibaut de Maisières is a member of the Innovation Fund Investment Committee which makes early-stages investments in innovative start-ups active in the field of chemistry and bioscience. She brings extensive experience in the chemical and life sciences industries and expertise in entrepreneurship, finance, research and development, process and materials technology as well as the circular economy.
Job Titles:
- Chief People Officer
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Dr. Mark van Bijsterveld is Solvay's Chief People Officer. He previously served as Chief HR Officer at Signify N.V. He is a seasoned HR executive with extensive experience building an engaged workforce at brand-led sustainable companies. Dr. van Bijsterveld works with leaders to build on their strengths and co-create an agile organization with a culture of belonging that has a positive impact on the lives of people and society. While at Signify, he created a strong standalone organization, optimizing the company's operating model and advancing the transformation towards carbon neutrality in 2020. Prior to that, he served in HR roles at multinational corporations Royal Philips N.V., Microsoft and Deloitte.
Job Titles:
- Head of Investor Relations
Job Titles:
- Chief Operations Officer
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Lanny Duvall is Solvay's Chief Operations Officer. He previously served as Chief Operations Officer at Heubach. He has three decades of chemical industry experience and a track record of creating organizations that deliver superior safety, quality, and productivity results. Mr. Duvall has lived and worked in the US, China, and Europe and has led the supply chain function through carve outs and integrations. Prior to his experience with Heubach, Mr. Duvall served in various roles within the chemical industry at global industry leaders including Nouryon/AkzoNobel, Arkema S.A., BlueStar Group, Celanese, and Rohm & Haas. He has extensive experience in all aspects of operations management, including manufacturing, procurement and global supply chain.
Lisa Brown - Chief Legal Officer, Secretary
Job Titles:
- Corporate Secretary
- General Counsel
- Group General Counsel
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Lisa Brown is Solvay's Group General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Ms. Brown has over 20 years of professional experience leading a range of both public and private companies, having served as Chief Legal Officer of Sibelco Group and before that, WABCO as well as SSL International, after starting her career in leading law firms. Having built extensive global experience gained from large-scale acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures with expertise in healthcare, automotive and mining industries. Ms Brown also brings expertise in sustainability, corporate governance, effective risk management and managing through complex regulatory environments. Over the course of her career, she has demonstrated the ability to advance companies' strategic plan through leading, negotiating and implementing multiple acquisitions, divestments, collaborations and joint ventures globally. In addition to her executive role, Ms. Brown serves as an Independent Director and chair of the Nominating and Remuneration Committee of the Board and PI Industries Limited.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Nomination Committee
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee Is Composed of Team
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Remuneration Committee
Marjan Oudeman, born in 1958, is an independent Director and Chair of the Nomination Committee. She was appointed in 2015 on the Board of Solvay. She also serves on the board of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, UPM-Kymmene Corporation, SHV Holdings NV (a privately-owned trading group) and chairs Groenvermogen (a Dutch innovation Fund for Green Hydrogen). Marjan Oudeman is a strong industrial leader with a focus on strategy and business development, M&A and process engineering. She has a long experience as an executive and non-executive of stock listed and non listed companies. Marjan Oudeman held a long career in Hoogovens Group, then Corus Group, then Tata Steel Europe as member of the Executive Committee and Director Division Strip Products. She has also been a member of the Executive Committee of AkzoNobel and Executive President of Utrecht University. She served previously as a Non Executive on the Board of Equinor ASA, ABN AMRO NV, Aalberts NV, NLMK, NS NV, Concertgebouw and Rijksmuseum as well as Chair of the Ronald McDonalds Children Fund in the Netherlands.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee Is Composed of Team
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Finance Committee
Melchior de Vogüé, born in 1962, is a non-independent Director. Mr. de Vogüé currently sits on the Board of Solvac, where he was appointed in 2022, and is presently Group CFO of the Etex Group, a global building material company, and Board Member of the Centre Médical de Bligny. He brings decades of experience in finance, M&A and risk management and has broad experience in the specialty papers and chemicals industry. He previously served as CFO of various Suez Environmental Group water management subsidiaries across the UK, the United States of America and Puerto Rico. He also served as CFO and Co-CEO of Tessenderlo Chemie.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- Member of the Finance Committee
- Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board
Philippe Kehren is Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board. Before becoming CEO, he was President and Head of Sustainability of the Soda Ash & Derivatives global business unit at Solvay. He is an industrial authority with a 30-year cross-functional experience acquired in multiple management roles. At the helm of the Soda Ash & Derivatives business since 2020, Mr. Kehren transformed the business, which has resulted in strong cash generation, margins and growth, reinforcing its global leadership while speeding up the Company's energy transition. He accelerated the reinvention of the Solvay process through cutting-edge innovation to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of production. He joined Solvay in 2012 to lead business development in Energy Services, and later oversaw the successful turnaround of the European Soda Ash business. He also managed clean energy production and led transformation projects and customer relations in the EMEA region. Prior to Solvay, Mr. Kehren served in various management roles at Rhodia.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Finance Committee
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Member of the Remuneration Committee
Pierre Gurdjian, born in 1961, serves as independent Director and Chair of the Board and Chair of the Finance Committee. He was appointed as a Director of Solvay in 2022. He also serves on the Board of Directors of UCB and Lhoist. In addition, he is active in multiple societal projects and also chaired the Board of Directors of the Free University of Brussels (ULB). He brings extensive experience in executive leadership, strategy, governance and societal impact. Prior, he served for almost three decades at McKinsey & Company, among which 13 years as senior partner. He was the Managing Partner of the Belgium-Luxembourg office and held international responsibility for McKinsey's Human Capital practice in EMEA.
Thierry Bonnefous, born in 1979, serves as non-independent Director. He was Digital Train Program Director at Alstom, a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility. Mr Bonnefous also served as an administrator of the Fonds Ernest Solvay, which implements the corporate philanthropy activity of the Solvay group. Mr Bonnefous brings experience in leading complex projects with high technological content. Prior to joining Alstom, he held several design and engineering management positions at PSA Peugeot Citroën (now Stellantis).
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee Is Composed of Team
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Finance Committee
Thomas Aebischer, born in 1961, is an independent Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. He is Vice-Chair of the Board at Dormakaba, a leading provider of smart & secure access solutions, and Board Member of Sika AG, a specialty chemicals company. He also chaired the Audit Committee at Quotient Limited. Mr. Aebischer brings a global perspective and experience in financial management, strategy and business development, cross-border merger & acquisitions, investor relations, procurement and information technology. Most recently, he serves as interim CFO of Master Builders Solutions, a leading provider of construction chemicals. From 2016 to 2019, he held the position of EVP and CFO for LyondellBasell and from 2021 to 2022 he worked as the CFO of RWDC Industries, a biotechnology company developing biopolymer material solutions. Prior to that, Mr. Aebischer spent nearly 20 years with Holcim, serving in roles of increasing responsibility until being named CFO. Mr. Aebischer spent time early in his career at PwC, where he worked as a Certified Public Accountant in Zurich, Eastern Europe and Hong Kong.
Job Titles:
- Investor Relations Manager
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Remuneration Committee
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee Is Composed of Team
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Finance Committee
- Member of the Nomination Committee
Wolfgang Colberg, born in 1959, is an independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee. He has been a Director on the Solvay Board since 2021. He also sits on the Boards of Thyssenkrupp AG, AMSilk GmbH and Fire (BC) Holdco Ltd.. In addition, he serves as an Industrial Partner at Capmont, an entrepreneurial private capital investment manager. Mr. Colberg is a proven leader with extensive leadership and financial experience within the specialty chemicals industry. From 2009 to 2013, he served as CFO of Evonik Industries, where he was responsible for the company's IPO in 2013. Throughout his career, he also held various senior management positions at the Bosch Group and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH until he became Chief Financial Officer for the Bosch Group and Siemens Hausgeräte.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Member of the Remuneration Committee
Yves Bonte, born in 1961, is an independent Director. He is also Chair of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Domo Chemicals, into which he successfully integrated Solvay's European Performance Polyamide business, in 2020. He brings a 30-year experience of innovative and energetic leadership in the chemical sector worldwide, with a focus on the materials industry. Prior to his tenure at Domo, Mr. Bonte was a Member of the Executive Management Board of Yara International and led the Industrial Segment, which he transformed. He previously held several top management positions at LyondellBasell.