Büchner to succeed Wijers as CEO of AkzoNobel
The supervisory board of AkzoNobel has
announced that Hans Wijers, chief executive officer has decided to step down
with effect from the
annual general
meeting (AGM)
2012. The board
also announced the
appointment of Ton
Büchner as the
company’s new
chief executive officer, pending AGM approval. Büchner is
currently president and chief executive
officer of Sulzer AG.
Wijers joined AkzoNobel as a member of the board of management in October 2002, and was appointed CEO in
May 2003. In his first few years, he improved the pipeline of the pharma business, focused the chemicals businesses
and successfully grew coatings operations. Following these strategic changes,
he led the transformation of the company by divesting its pharmaceuticals
operations and acquiring ICI, effectively
creating today’s AkzoNobel, a leader in
coatings and specialty chemicals.
Büchner has been chief executive of
Sulzer AG, a publically traded company
on the Swiss Stock Exchange, since
2007. He joined Sulzer in 1994 and has
held a number of operational and leadership roles across the company including the presidencies of two of its
divisions—Sulzer Turbomachinery Services and Sulzer Pumps. He was also chief
representative and responsible for Sulzer
operations in China.
Ton Büchner
DKSH Performance Materials
appoints business manager
DKSH has appointed Mathias Greger
business unit manager for its specialty
chemicals distribution business in North
America. He has been working with the
Swiss-based market expansion services
group over the past year, leading the in-house consulting team in Kuala Lumpur.
Prior to joining DKSH, he had worked
for the chemicals division of Mitsui &
Co., with responsibility for sales and
business development in Central and
Eastern Europe. In his new role, Greger
will focus on overall growth activities in
the North American market by acquiring
new suppliers, strengthening relationships with key suppliers and expanding
the customer base in the specialty chemicals and personal care industries.
Michelman names chemical
specialties R&D manager
Michelman has hired Michael Kramer as
its chemical specialties R&D manager.
Kramer will be based at the company’s
headquarters in Cincinnati, OH and will
be responsible for the global chemical
specialties R&D activities, including
project and technology leadership, technical service and laboratory management. He will also serve on the
company’s technology leadership team.
Gelest appoints Herberg
regional sales manager
Gelest, Inc. has appointed Michael Herberg sales manager, Southeast and Midwest. He is based in North Carolina and is
responsible for managing field sales. A
veteran of the chemical industry, Herberg
comes to Gelest with broad experience
that encompasses roles in sales, market
development, product development,
R&D, engineering and technical and business management for a number of major
companies in the silicone industry, including Clariant Corporation, Rhodia Silicones (now Bluestar Silicones), Shin-Etsu
Silicones of America, WR Grace and General Electric Co. (now Momentive Performance Materials). He is technically
versed in silanes and siloxane polymers
and intermediates, as found in many ap-
plications, including coating and elastomer formulations; surface preparation
and chemical deposition; plastics formulations, compounding and molding; and
semiconductor, photovoltaic and LED
materials and processing.
US Phosphor names
Sexton general manager
US Phosphor, a manufacturer of long-persistence phosphor, has named Allen
Sexton general manager. Sexton brings
decades of phosphor and chemical industry experience to the company. He
will have key responsibilities in advancing US Phosphor’s strategy to expand its
product set and deepen its penetration
into vertical markets. Sexton previously
served as the vice president of Prayon,
Inc., a manufacturer of specialty phosphorus chemicals based in Belgium. During his five years at Prayon, Sexton was
responsible for all tactical and strategic
planning and execution in North American business markets. With US Phosphor, Sexton will oversee all sales and
business development, as well as all manufacturing and production operations.
Archway Sales adds to
customer service team
Pat O’Brien has joined Archway Sales,
Inc. as a technical sales representative for
its Midwest region. O’Brien has more
than 20 years experience in technical
sales in the chemical/industrial industry.
He was most recently an account executive with UNIVAR with focus on the
coatings, adhesives, sealant and elastomer markets. He will be responsible to
grow Archway’s presence and sales in
parts of IA, IL and MO. Julian Rodriguez has also joined Archway Sales,
Inc. for its Midwest region. Rodriguez
will be a member of the company’s customer service team based out of St.
Louis, MO. CW
