Section: CRUNS News

SABIC’s general assembly has approved the appointment of Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh as SABIC CEO, and an executive member of the board of directors until April 9, 2025 – the Board’s tenure end date. In its previous meeting, the Board of Directors, had agreed to appoint Dr. Mohammed Yahya Al-Qahtani as vice chairman. At the meeting, Khalid Al-Dabbagh, SABIC Chairman, noted that the past year had been difficult one, though “SABIC managed to face the challenges by intensifying its development programs to achieve record numbers in terms of production, sales, and revenues that exceeded the achievements of the previous year. However, its net profits have not met its aspirations and have shrunk compared to last year due to the worsening global conditions.” He also said that SABIC is pursuing plans to manage working capital through the Cash Cost Transformation program, and is sparing no effort to achieve sustainable growth, adopt long-term strategic goals for sustainability, and reduce emissions related to the life cycle of its products across the value chain.

BASF has announced some changes to its leadership team. The company has appointed Dr. Stephan Kothrade , President, Intermediates, as a member of the board of executive directors from March 1st, 2023. Stephan Kothrade has been with BASF since 1995 and has led BASF’s Intermediates division since 2022. Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Supervisory Board said: “Stephan Kothrade has proven himself in several leadership roles in Germany and abroad. He has worked successfully for many years at our Verbund sites in Europe and Asia and will complement the Board of Executive Directors in an excellent way.” Kothrade succeeds Saori Dubourg , who left the company as from February 28, 2023, by mutual agreement. The board thanked Dubourg for her successful work and wished her all the best for her future career.

The International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) has appointed Henk van Duijn as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as of January 1st 2023. Van Duijn brings more than 30 years of experience in agriculture and international development, with a focus on Europe, Africa, and Asia. Prior to his selection as IFDC President and CEO, van Duijn served as Vice President, Corporate Services, and Chief Operations and Finance Officer at IFDC. Before that, he headed the 2SCALE program (2019-2021) and served as CEO of Bopinc (2014-2019). As a diplomat and civil service director in the Netherlands, van Duijn led the design, startup, and implementation of large-scale interdisciplinary programs as well as national and international public-private partnerships in Europe, Africa, and Asia. He holds a master’s degree in Land and Water Management from Wageningen University & Research.

Topsoe has made a number of changes to its board. Kim Saaby Hedegaard has been appointed as the company’s new Executive Vice President, Power-to-X. Hedegaard has served as interim Head of Power-to-X since May 2022. Before that, he held the position as Chief Operations Officer (COO). He joined Topsoe in 1999 and has since held various leadership positions within engineering, technology, and sales. Since 2017, he was responsible for Catalyst Production and Technology globally. He holds a MSc in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark. He is replaced as COO by Andreas Bruun Jørgensen.

Clariant has announced a reorganisation into three global business units instead of the previous five, with the business unit presidents to be located in the regions with the largest customer base and highest growth potential for the respective businesses. It will also create a new executive steering committee that will include the CEO, the CFO and the presidents of the new business units.

Maire Tecnimont has announced the resignation of Pierroberto Folgiero from the positions of Director, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, effective from May 15, 2022. Interim appointments to senior positions are subject to article 2386 of the Italian Civil Code, with a list drawn up at the time of appointment. However, with designated successor Alessandra Conte unwilling to accept the position, it has passed to Alessandro Bernini, previously Group Chief Financial Officer of the company since 2013, who will now also become the new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Maire Tecnimont. The company board has also conferred on Bernini executive powers for the management and coordination of the Group's activities. The resolutions will be effective from 15 May 2022. Alessandro Bernini will remain in office, according to the law, until the next shareholders' meeting of the Company.

Haldor Topsoe has appointed Elena Scaltritti as the company’s new chief commercial officer. She will take up her new position no later than July 1st, 2022. She has previously been executive vice president at Korea’s SONGWON Industrial Group, where she was responsible for the group’s commercial activities.

KP Engineering, LP specialising in the design and execution of customized EPC solutions for the refining, syngas, hydrogen and renewable fuels industries, has named Bill Preston as its new president and Chief Executive Officer. Based in Houston, Preston has served as KPE’s president and Chief Operating Officer since 2015. During that time, he was responsible for leading significant growth and upholding KPE’s core operational values of respect and integrity. As CEO, he will be responsible for the overall direction, execution and global expansion of the company. Preston has 34 years of experience leading and growing technology-based businesses in the engineering, oil and gas, energy and chemical production sectors. Prior to joining KP Engineering, he served in vice president roles for companies including a division of Texaco and ChevronTexaco, Linc Energy, Synthesis Energy Systems and GreatPoint Energy. He also served as CEO of The Energy Capital Group, developing syngas and chemical production facilities in the petrochemical and oil refining industries. He is currently the Executive Director of the Global Syngas Technologies Council, the hydrogen and syngas industry’s premier trade association.

Borealis has announced the appointment of Rainer Höfling as CEO of its International Fertilizer & Melamine business, as of 1st October 2018. This business unit comprises approximately 2,000 employees. The dedicated management team under the lead of Rainer Höfling will provide higher agility and increased customer focus for the business. Borealis runs fertilizer production sites in Austria, France, the Netherlands and Belgium and melamine production in Austria and Germany.

Former Danish Minister of Climate, Energy, and Gender Equality, Lykke Friis , has been elected to the Blue World Technologies’ board of directors. The company says that she will support its “journey towards providing a strong green alternative to combustion engines and diesel generators for industries around the world.”