CLARIANT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Saudi Arabian Citizen, Vice - Chairman, Non - Executive Member of the Board of Directors
Ahmed Mohammed Al Umar started his professional career at SABIC in 1987 as an Operations & Information Analyst in the Controlling Department, followed by a management position in SABIC's Business Unit Fertilizers. From 1999 to 2006, he was General Manager in the CEO's office, responsible for special projects. Between 2006 and 2015, he held several senior management positions, including General Manager Sales & Marketing - Aromatics & Olefins of SABIC's business unit Chemicals (2006 - 2008), General Manager SABIC Asia-Pacific (2008 - 2010), Vice President and Head of SABIC Asia-Pacific (2010 - 2011) as well as Vice President of SABIC's business unit Global Oxygenates (2011 - 2015). From 2015 to 2020, Ahmed Mohammed Al Umar was Vice President of Joint Venture Affairs, and since 2020, he has been Vice President Joint Venture Affairs and M&A. From 2001 to 2008, Ahmed Mohammed Al Umar was the General Secretary of the Board of Directors of SABIC. Ahmed Mohammed Al Umar holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, and an Executive MBA from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia.
Job Titles:
- Head of Investor Relations
- Executive Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Business President Adsorbents & Additives and EMEA / Member of the Executive Steering Committee
- Business President of the Business Unit Adsorbents & Additives
- Executive Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Financial Officer ( CFO ) Member of the Executive Steering Committee
- Executive Leadership Team
Bill Collins was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Clariant on 1 July 2022.
He joins Clariant's Executive Steering Committee from ENGIE where he served as the North American Chief Executive Officer as well as CFO. Prior to this, he held the position of ENGIE's Group Deputy CFO in Paris.
Bill has a strong track record in driving performance and large-scale transformation in complex global businesses including AkzoNobel, Eaton Corporation, and Schneider Electric. In his previous positions, Bill managed relationships with banks, auditors, consultants, and legal advisors.
Bill is a US citizen and holds an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Corporate Development Officer
- Executive Leadership Team
Chris Hansen was appointed Chief Corporate Development Officer as of 1 July 2022. As part of this role, he heads Corporate Planning & Strategy, Commercial Excellence, Group Operational Excellence, and Group Procurement.
Previously, Chris held the role as Head of Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) from 2020 until 2022. Prior to that, he spent from 2013 until 2020 in Shanghai and Singapore, heading the now divested Business Unit Masterbatches for Greater China and later for the region Asia-Pacific (APAC). Chris joined Clariant in 2009 as part of Clariant Excellence, initially responsible for developing the Clariant Production System for Business Unit Masterbatches and later for rolling out the full Clariant Excellence program to the Business Units Catalyst and Functional Minerals.
Prior to his employment at Clariant, Chris was Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company.
Chris has a master's degree in Economics and Finance from Aarhus University in Denmark.
Job Titles:
- Business President Care Chemicals and Americas / Member of the Executive Steering Committee
- Business President of the Business Unit Care Chemicals
- Executive Leadership Team
Christian Vang was appointed Business President of the Business Unit Care Chemicals and the region Americas as of 1 July 2022. Since 2015, he has served as Global Head of Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties (ICS) at Clariant.
Christian launched his career at Clariant in 2008 as Head of Region Asia Pacific for the Pigment & Additive Division based in Singapore. Then he became Regional Head of Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties (ICS) based in Shanghai, China, followed by Head of Corporate Planning & Strategy.
Before joining Clariant, Christian was Regional Head for Siegwerk Group in Asia- Pacific until 2008. For the 20 years before this, Christian had been assigned by the Hempel Group to various growth regions in EMEA including Egypt, Eastern Europe, Greece, Malaysia, and Singapore, where he was Group Vice President and Managing Director for Hempel Group in Southeast Asia.
Christian holds a bachelor's degree in international business and Macro Economics, as well as an Executive General Management Program from INSEAD (CEDEP) and various Executive degrees from institutions such as The London Business School, Harvard, and INSEAD.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Non - Executive Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) Member of the Executive Steering Committee
- Executive Leadership Team
Prior to joining Clariant, Conrad was CEO at French listed specialty materials company Imerys, where he set the strategic direction for organic growth and profitability improvement.
From 2013 to 2018, Conrad was an Executive Committee Member at AkzoNobel and CEO of Performance Coatings, its largest division. Previously at Akzo Nobel, he had held leadership roles in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the U.S. and Mexico.
At the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), he is a member of the Board and the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Nomination Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors at the American Chemistry Council (ACC).
Job Titles:
- CHIEF
- CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
- BUSINESS PRESIDENT CARE CHEMICALS and AMERICAS / MEMBER of the EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE
Christian Vang was appointed Business President of the Business Unit Care Chemicals and the region Americas as of 1 July 2022. Since 2015, he has served as Global Head of Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties (ICS) at Clariant.
Christian launched his career at Clariant in 2008 as Head of Region Asia Pacific for the Pigment & Additive Division based in Singapore. Then he became Regional Head of Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties (ICS) based in Shanghai, China, followed by Head of Corporate Planning & Strategy.
Before joining Clariant, Christian was Regional Head for Siegwerk Group in Asia- Pacific until 2008. For the 20 years before this, Christian had been assigned by the Hempel Group to various growth regions in EMEA including Egypt, Eastern Europe, Greece, Malaysia, and Singapore, where he was Group Vice President and Managing Director for Hempel Group in Southeast Asia.
Christian holds a bachelor's degree in international business and Macro Economics, as well as an Executive General Management Program from INSEAD (CEDEP) and various Executive degrees from institutions such as The London Business School, Harvard, and INSEAD.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Non - Executive Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Chairman and Chief Executive of Zolenza AG
Geoffery Merszei is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Zolenza AG, an investment and advisory firm based in Zug, Switzerland. Geoffery Merszei was previously the Executive Vice President of The Dow Chemical Company, President of Dow Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Chairman of Dow Europe before retiring in 2013. He served on Dow's board from 2005 to 2009 and was the Lead Director on the board of Dow Corning Corporation. He was also Chairman of Dow's Geographic Leadership Council and a member of Dow's Executive Leadership Committee. Previously, he was Dow's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In 2001, Geoffery Merszei served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Alcan Inc. He has also served as a board member of the Chemical Financial Corporation, and as a trustee and executive committee member of the United States Council for International Business.
Job Titles:
- HEAD of COMMUNICATIONS
- HEAD of INVESTOR RELATIONS
- BUSINESS PRESIDENT ADSORBENTS & ADDITIVES and EMEA / MEMBER of the EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE
- BUSINESS PRESIDENT CATALYSTS and APAC / MEMBER of the EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE
- Chairman, Non - Executive Member of the Board of Directors
Kai Rolker has been Head of Communications at Clariant since 2014. He is responsible for all communications activities worldwide. This includes Corporate Communications, Marketing Communications and Crisis Communications.
Angela Cackovich was appointed Business President of the Business Unit Adsorbents & Additives and the region Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as of 1 July 2022.
Angela joins Clariant's Executive Steering Committee from tesa, where she was a member of the Executive Board. Previously, she held various management positions with P&L responsibility at Henkel, e.g., Head of Global Building & Construction Business, Head of Adhesives Automotive/Aviation Americas, and Head of Adhesives Automotive/Aviation Europe.
Prior to this she gained significant industry experience in a number of leadership positions at Celanese, Rohm & Haas Dow Corning, and Hoechst.
Angela is a German citizen and holds master's degrees in Chemical Engineering, Business Administration, as well as in International Finance.
Before Oerlikon, Andreas Schwarzwälder assumed the position of Head of Investor Relations of SMARTRAC N.V., Amsterdam (German TecDax) from 2008 to 2010. Prior to this, he was Head of Investor Relations from 2002 to 2008 at MPC Münchmeyer Petersen Capital AG, Hamburg (German SDAX/MDAX).
From 2001 to 2002 Andreas Schwarzwälder was Head of European Investor Relations of Energis plc, London (FTSE 100). In 2000, Andreas Schwarzwälder joined ISION Internet AG, Hamburg (IPO at Deutsche Börse's Neuer Markt) where he was Director of Communications and responsible for Corporate Communications and Investor Relations.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Nomination Committee
Job Titles:
- Business President
- Business President Catalysts and APAC / Member of the Executive Steering Committee
- Executive Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Group General Counsel
- Executive Leadership Team
Judith Bischof has been Group General Counsel since September 2022. Group Legal comprises Legal, Ethics & Integrity, Data Privacy, Information Security, Intellectual Property Management, and Insurances.
Prior to her employment at Clariant, Judith worked as a lawyer for nine years, first at the court and later at two prestigious law firms, Lenz & Staehelin in Zurich and Covington & Burling in New York. On top of that, Judith Bischof has more than ten years of experience as General Counsel in the industry, first at Ascom, a telecommunications company, and most recently at the technology group RUAG International. Additionally, Judith Bischof is a member of the Board of Directors at Implenia.
Judith graduated in law from the University of Zurich, holds a Master of International Business and Law degree from the University of Sydney, and an Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen (HSG).
Job Titles:
- Head of Communications
- Executive Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Non - Executive Member of the Board of Directors
Konstantin Winterstein studied at the Technical Universities in Darmstadt and in Berlin, where he completed a degree in production engineering. In 2004 he received his MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau and Singapore. From 1997 to 2014 he held various positions with the BMW Group. Since 2014 he is member of the Executive Board of Ringmetall AG (former H.P.I. Holding AG) in Munich. From 2006 to 2011 he served on the Supervisory Board of Süd-Chemie AG.
»I re-located to Frankfurt for Clariant because I was offered the opportunity to create a High Throughput Lab from scratch.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Vice President & General Counsel of SABIC
Naveena Shastri is currently the Vice President & General Counsel of SABIC, a position that she has held since 1 January 2017. As a key senior executive leader for SABIC, she has primary responsibility for managing the legal, compliance, and corporate governance aspects of SABIC on a global basis, providing strategic counsel to SABIC's executive leadership and leading and developing the global legal team. Naveena Shastri also leads SHE, the SABIC Women's Network, globally and is an active champion of SABIC's diversity and inclusion initiatives. She is based in Houston, Texas, United States. Prior to becoming SABIC's General Counsel, Naveena Shastri was the Chief Regional Counsel for the Americas region as well as the legal business partner for SABIC's Specialties Strategic Business Unit and a key member of these leadership teams. She has also held a variety of senior roles in the legal organization of SABIC in the Americas and with GE Plastics in the United States and India. Prior to joining GE Plastics, she worked for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Investment Bank and, before that, at Linklaters in London in their Project Finance Department. Naveena Shastri holds a bachelor's degree in history and political science from Bangalore University, India, a law degree from Cambridge University, England, and an LL.M. from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Global Marketing Manager Personal Care )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Non - Executive Member of the Board of Directors
Peter Steiner studied business administration in Mannheim and Cologne, Germany, and finished with a Master degree. He is a German Certified Public Accountant, Tax Advisor and Business Consultant with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, financing and investment management. Peter Steiner was previously a partner of the investment company One Equity Partners LLC and worked for MG Technologies AG as its Chief Financial Officer. At Dyckerhoff AG, he was successively CFO, Chief Operating Officer and finally CEO. Following his many years as an auditor with Arthur Andersen & Co., he was also CFO of Süba Bau AG.
»Clariant is the biggest company I've ever worked for but it still feels very small.«
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer
- Executive Leadership Team
Richard Haldimann has been Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer of Clariant since February 2022. He also leads also Clariant's Group Innovation & Sustainability department, including Sustainability Transformation, Global Product Stewardship, ESHA & IGSM, and Analytical Sciences.
Previously, he held the position of Head of Sustainability Transformation since 2020. From 2015 to 2020, he was Head of New Business Development and in that role responsible for several internal startup businesses to explore growth options outside of the core business. From 2010 to 2015 he was responsible for developing Clariant's Innovation System as Clariant Excellence Deployment Leader for Innovation Excellence.
Prior to his employment at Clariant, Richard Haldimann spent ten years in various business positions of increasing responsibility in the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing industry.
Richard studied Chemistry at the Swiss federal institute of technology (ETH Zurich), where he also obtained a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, followed by a postdoctoral research position at the University of California in San Diego.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
Roberto Gualdoni started his professional career in 1983 as a Commercial Coordinator for the global seamless steel pipe business at Tenaris in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1987, he joined BASF, where he held various management positions over the years, including Group Vice President of the Foam Products Business Unit from 1998 to 2001, Group Vice President of the Engineering Plastics Europe Business Unit from 2001 to 2005, Senior Vice President of Global Procurement Basic Products from 2006 to 2007, and Senior Vice President Global Procurement Raw Materials from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, he became President of BASF's Styrenics business unit, which merged with INEOS units to form the Styrolution Group, a global leader in styrenics for the automotive, electronics, household appliances, construction, and healthcare industries. Here, he served as CEO from 2011 to 2014, responsible for sales of EUR 5.6 billion, 3 200 employees, and 27 production sites in ten countries. Roberto Gualdoni holds a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and he also graduated with an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Non - Executive Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Chief Human Resources Officer ( CHRO ) and Head of Group HR
- Executive Leadership Team
Tatiana Berardinelli has been Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and Head of Group HR since 1 August 2021.
Tatiana joined Clariant from PPG Industries, Inc., Pittsburgh, USA, where she was Global Head of People Operations. Her previous roles at PPG include Global HR Director, Architectural Coatings and North America Region, and Global HR Director, Automotive OEM and Latin America Region. During her time with PPG Tatiana led HR and business transformations, and acquisition integrations and was focused on business growth and performance, employee experience, and operational excellence.
Prior to joining PPG, Tatiana held different HR business and COE leadership roles with Eastman Chemical Company and the Dow Chemical Company.
She launched her career in HR at Rohm and Haas Company where she held several roles of increasing responsibility in Latin America, Asia, and the United States.
Tatiana earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, and a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from the Jonkoping International Business School in Sweden.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Nomination Committee
- Member of the Board of Directors of Algar Telecom, Lea
- Non - Executive Member of the Board of Directors
Thilo Mannhardt is a member of the Board of Directors of Algar Telecom, leading the Audit and Risk Committee since 2017. Since 2018, he is a Board member and advisor of BMI/White Fox Management. In 2020, he joined the advisory council of Logus Capital Financial Advisors. He previously was in the advisory council of PE Victoria Capital. He was a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of Ultrapar SA from 2011 - 2018 and a member of the Board of C&A Brazil from 2019 - 2022.
After several years in academia and research, Thilo Mannhardt joined McKinsey & Co., Inc. in 1985. During 28 years until his retirement in 2012, he held various leadership roles in Europe, Latin America and Africa, most recently as Senior Partner and Director.
Thilo Mannhardt studied aeronautical and space engineering and received a master's degree from the Technical University Berlin, Germany, where he also completed his PhD in 1985. In addition, he received a post-graduation certificate in Business Administration from University Hagen, Germany.