Change in the Board of Directors of Clariant
Muttenz, February 25, 2016 – Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced today that its Board of Directors will propose the election of Eveline Saupper, Claudia Suessmuth Dyckerhoff and Peter Steiner to the Board of Directors, subject to the approval of the Annual General Meeting of Clariant Ltd taking place on April 21, 2016.
With the addition of the suggested new members, Clariant will expand its Board of Directors from nine to 10 members while replacing Peter R. Isler and Dominik Koechlin. Peter Isler, a member of Clariant's Board of Directors since 2004, has reached the statutory maximum age for board members of 70 and will therefore resign; Dominik Koechlin passed away in July 2015.
Rudolf Wehrli, Chairman of the Board said: "On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and all our employees, I'd like to sincerely thank Peter Isler for his valuable contribution during all the years, especially for his achievements as Chairman and longstanding member of the Audit Committee, for his contribution as a member of the Chairman's Committee as well as lately the Compensation Committee. At the same time we remember with sorrow Dominik Koechlin, who was an esteemed colleague and passionate entrepreneur.
We are very pleased that, with Eveline Saupper, Claudia Suessmuth Dyckerhoff and Peter Steiner, when elected by our shareholders, we will add further experienced advice and know-how to our Board of Directors, especially in the fields of Legal, Tax, and Asian markets."
Eveline Saupper (57), a Swiss citizen, is Of Counsel at the law firm Homburger AG in Zurich, Switzerland, where she was a partner until 2014. Before joining Homburger in 1985, she worked as a tax specialist with Peat Marwick Mitchell (today KPMG) in Zurich. Eveline Saupper holds several board memberships including Syngenta AG, Bâloise Holding AG (until April 2016), Flughafen Zürich AG, and Stäubli Holding AG. She holds a PhD in law from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and is admitted to the Bar of Zurich. Eveline Saupper is also a certified tax expert.
Claudia Suessmuth Dyckerhoff (48), German citizen, currently domiciled in Shanghai, China, with her family, is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and, with effect from March 2016, a senior external advisor to McKinsey. For the last five years she has been leading the Asia health services and systems sector within McKinsey. She joined McKinsey in Switzerland in 1995. Since then she has focused on advising mainly healthcare companies in Europe, the USA, Greater China, and Asia. She holds a PhD in business administration from the University of St. Gallen/University of Michigan Ann Arbor, USA, focusing on strategy, organization and operational excellence, and an MBA from CEMS/ESADE.
Peter Steiner (56), German citizen, is a German certified public accountant, tax advisor and business consultant with a focus on financing and investment management. He 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 for Arthur Andersen & Co., he was also CFO of Süba Bau AG. Peter Steiner holds several board memberships including Xella International S.A., Zeal Network SE, and Fixit Trockenmörtel Holding AG. He studied business administration in Mannheim and Cologne, Germany, and finished with a master's degree.