Speciality Chemicals Magazine JUL / AUG 2021 | Page 66

PEOPLE
Eklov heads Kalexsyn
R & D director Dr Brian Eklov has succeeded company co-founder Robert Gadwood , who is retiring , as CEO of the pharmaceutical CRO and CDMO Kalexsyn . He will focus on “ sustainable growth , leveraging competencies and operational efficiency within the Dipharma Group ”, which owns the firm .
Rogasik to lead Kensing
Speciality chemicals and personal care industries veteran Serge Rogasik has been named as CEO of Kensing , the rebranded site at Kankakee , Illinois , that One Rock Capital Partners has bought from BASF . Rogasik had previously been senior EVP for personal care at Vantage Specialty Chemicals .
Two advance at Merck
Merck KGaA has appointed Roman Werth to take over strategy , M & A and M Ventures , the company ’ s € 400 million corporate venture capital fund , and Laura Matz to the new position of chief science and technology officer . Both were internal candidates , the company said . Isabel de Paoli , head of strategy and transformation , has left .
Huntsman CFO change
Phil Lister has replaced Sean Douglas as CFO of Huntsman , after the latter resigned following 30 years at the company to become a minister in the Mormon Church . Lister has spent his whole career at Huntsman , most recently as head of M & A , where he oversaw seven transactions in the past three years .
New site , new head
Following the acquisition of ADC Bio , CDMO Sterling Pharma Solutions has appointed Dr Stewart Mitchell as new site head for its antibody-drug conjugate facility in Deeside , UK . Mitchell previously managed sites in the UK and US for companies including Rhodia , Shasun , Piramal and
Thermo Fisher and was most recently at CMAC .
Van Ypersele drives DEI at Solvay
Nathalie van Ypersele has been appointed chief diversity , equity and inclusion ( DEI ) officer , in addition to her current role as head of global communications . The company said that in this role she will “ drive the development and deployment of Solvay ’ s DEI strategy in partnership with Solvay ’ s leaders to empower the necessary cultural change within the company to foster a truly inclusive work environment ”, so as to help achieve certain targets by 2025 .
New CEO at Chemours
Mark Newman has been promoted from COO to CEO and president at Chemours in place of founding CEO Mark Vergnano . Vergnano himself will assume the position of non-executive chairman of the board for the rest of 2021 , in place of founding chairman Richard Brown , who is retiring .
Wilson to Swan
Formerly with Croda as global business director for the Polymer Effects business , Stephen Wilson became the new business director of Thomas Swan ’ s Performance Chemicals division , its largest , on 31 May . CEO Harry Swan described him as “ a highly experienced commercial director who will bring a wealth of knowledge and capability ”.
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