Azelis announces new strategic appointments and new member of the Board

New Delhi, July 26, 2016: Azelis, a leading global speciality chemicals distributor headquartered in Luxembourg, announces strategic organisational changes, including Asia, and a new appointment to the Board of Directors, to position the Group for further success.

Supported by investors APAX and following the acquisition and successful integration of Azelis Americas, former Koda Distribution Group, Azelis now has a unique global footprint and is geared for the next phase of growth and expansion.

Developments in Asia

Asia represents a significant growth opportunity for Azelis. Following a rapid growth trajectory in China and Japan in particular, the team in the region will be enhanced in order to further exploit the potential and accelerate development, serving better Azelis’ partners.

Laurent Nataf is appointed CEO and President Asia Pacific, effective 1st August, and will be based in Singapore. Nataf was appointed Group Chief Operating Officer in 2012 and has been a member of Azelis’ Executive Committee. He has held key positions during his service with Azelis, including Business Director for Industrial Chemicals and Group Business Development Director.

Azelis currently has operations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Other corporate appointments

The second key appointment is Anna Bertona, currently Chief Strategy and Principal Officer, who will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer EMEA, also effective 1st August, to steer Azelis’ market teams in the region and with a particular focus on Azelis principal development activities. Bertona will remain based in Antwerp, Belgium.

The Board is also pleased to welcome Thijs Bakker as Chief Financial Officer. Bakker will join Azelis in September 2016 following the retirement of Martin Hollenhorst in August. Bringing a wealth of experience in the finance and the chemical industry, Bakker has worked for over 15 years for AkzoNobel in various finance roles in the Netherlands, US and across Asia Pacific. In his most recent assignment Bakker was Finance Director Marine & Protective Coatings at AkzoNobel, based in Singapore. He will be relocating to Antwerp, Belgium for his role.

Dr. Hans Joachim Müller, Azelis Chief Executive Officer, said: “These are significant developments for Azelis; our new appointment and organisational changes within the Executive Committee in Asia, EMEA and at the HQ level will enable us to maximise our growth opportunities.”

Strengthening the Board of Directors

In parallel, the Azelis Board of Directors will be strengthened with the appointment of Michael J Roney.

Roney was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Bunzl, the international distribution and outsourcing group, listed on the London Stock Exchange FTSE 100 index, with operations spanning 29 countries and 4 continents.

He retired from Bunzl earlier this year, having served as CEO since 2005 and prior to that as non-executive director. Under Roney’s leadership of more than 10 years, Bunzl moved into the FTSE 100, made more than 100 acquisitions and had a compound annual TSR of 17%. The wealth of experience Roney gained at Bunzl and also in other international senior management positions and non-executive directorships, will provide excellent support to Azelis in setting the strategic direction for the business.

Commenting on the appointment of Michael Roney to the Board of Directors, Dr. Müller added: “We will benefit from Michael’s expertise and proven track record in distribution, drawing upon his extensive experience of expanding into new markets”.

These positive developments will support Azelis as it looks to create value and expand further upon its leading position in speciality chemicals and innovative ingredients.

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)