ARLANXEO - Key Persons
Abdullah Al-Owaid was appointed Chief Financial Officer on January 1, 2021. Starting September 28, 2022 he is also overseeing ARLANXEO's IT. Abdullah held various leadership positions in Finance at Aramco and was the Manager of Affiliates Support & Financial Consulting Department as well as the CFO of Excellent Performance Chemicals Company (EPCC), a Saudi Aramco subsidiary holding Sadara investment. He also serves as a Board member in some of Aramco Affiliates. Abdullah holds an MBA degree with a specialization in Finance and completed various executive trainings with leading Business schools such as Harvard and INSEAD.
Job Titles:
- Role of Chief Sales Officer
Chris Kalla assumed the role of Chief Sales Officer at ARLANXEO on February 1, 2024. He is also the Managing Director of ARLANXEO Germany. He started his career at Bayer in 1988. Throughout his career, he has worked in various functions such as Marketing & Sales, Procurement and R&D and in several countries including the United States, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. In March 2018 he became Head of Global Procurement at ARLANXEO. In September 2022, he had assumed the role of acting Chief Commercial Officer at ARLANXEO. He is a certified business assistant.
Chris Kalla assumed the role of Chief Sales Officer at ARLANXEO on February 1, 2024. He is also the Managing Director of ARLANXEO Germany. He started his career at Bayer in 1988. Throughout his career, he has worked in various functions such as Marketing & Sales, Procurement and R&D and in several countries including the United States, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. In March 2018 he became Head of Global Procurement at ARLANXEO. In September 2022, he had assumed the role of acting Chief Commercial Officer at ARLANXEO. He is a certified business assistant.
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer
On September 2022, Herman Dikland has been appointed as the Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer of ARLANXEO. Herman Dikland (1965) was born in Enschede, The Netherlands. After obtaining his PhD in the field of Rubber Chemistry and Technology, he joined DSM Elastomers and held various positions in Business Development and Research Management. In 2011, DSM Elastomers was acquired by Lanxess. In 2013 he moved to Cologne to lead Lanxess' Global Specialty Elastomers business (a.o. EVM and HNBR). In 2015 he became the head of the Global NBR and HNBR businesses, whilst also directing the shared R&D facilities of the company. In October 2019 Herman had been appointed as the Chief Technology Officer of ARLANXEO.
Johan Gerrese - Chief Legal Officer, Secretary
Job Titles:
- Corporate Secretary
- General Counsel
Johan Gerrese became General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of ARLANXEO in 2016. He began his legal career in private practice in Houston, Texas (USA). He has worked in various law leadership positions in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Asia, including with Alcatel Lucent, Enron International and Destec Energy. In 2014, Johan joined Saudi Aramco. He holds a doctoral degree in Law from the University of Leiden and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Corporate Development Officer
John Sawaya became Chief Corporate Development Officer at ARLANXEO on March 1, 2021. In addition, John has been ARLANXEO's Regional Head and Managing Director for North America (NORAM) since January of 2018 and as of September 28, 2022 he is also overseeing ARLANXEO's Communications. He started his international business career in 1991 and has held various leadership positions at ARLANXEO and its predecessor companies, including Commercial Head, NORAM. John holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, from the American University in Washington DC, having majored in Finance and Marketing.
Job Titles:
- Chief Manufacturing Officer
John Schmidt has assumed the role of Chief Manufacturing Officer on February 1, 2024. Previously, he served as acting Chief Operating Officer at ARLANXEO. John has been the Orange Site Manager in the United States and the Managing Director of ARLANXEO Canada since 2018. Since 1985, he has held various leadership positions within Manufacturing at LANXESS, Bayer and Polysar. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from University of Western Ontario in Canada.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Chief Business Management & Supply Chain Officer
Pierre Chorand serves as our Chief Business Management & Supply Chain Officer since February 1, 2024. He had joined ARLANXEO in January 2022 as Chief Corporate Planning Officer and had also assumed the role of Chief Procurement and Supply Chain Officer in September 2022. He brings 30 years of experience including senior leadership roles in supply chain, logistics and operations at various companies, including Trinseo and Firmenich. Pierre studied at King's College in London and HEI (Hautes Etudes d'Ingénieur) in France where he obtained a Masters degree in Engineering. He obtained several additional qualifications in e.g., Strategy, Finance and Supply Chain and Logistics from IMD Lausanne, HEC Paris and MIT Boston.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Santbrink Joined ARLANXEO As Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 2023. Formerly He Was the Downstream CFO and Head of Strategy & Business Support at Saudi Aramco
Stephan van Santbrink joined ARLANXEO as Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 2023. Formerly he was the Downstream CFO and Head of Strategy & Business Support at Saudi Aramco.
Stephan brings over 25 years of oil and gas experience from both Saudi Aramco and Shell and serves on Boards of international companies. Stephan is Dutch and holds degrees in Law and Economics from the University of Amsterdam and obtained his MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
Véronique Stals joined ARLANXEO as Chief Human Resources Officer in October 2022. She brings 25 years of experience in international Human Resources management across many industries, including leadership roles at pharmaceutical companies, biotech, manufacturing, aviation, financial services, consulting and private equity. More recently she worked as CHRO at Synthon and at Sanofi as VP HR for the Primary Care Global Business Unit, Head of HR Latin America, Head of HR Turkey, Middle East, Ukraine & Eurasia and Head of Benelux. Véronique Stals holds a degree in Roman languages from the University of Antwerp and obtained her Post Academic degree in Human Resources from the University of Tilburg. She also received executive training at Insead (France), Lyon Business School (France) and IMD Lausanne (Switzerland). She has lived and worked in nine countries and is fluent in six languages.