Clariant Appoints Mathias Lütgendorf Member of the Executive Committee

Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has appointed Mathias Lütgendorf as a member of its Executive Committee, effective April 1, 2009. He will assume responsibility for the Textile, Leather and Paper Businesses as well as for the company’s Asian region. Peter Brandenberg, currently head of the Textile, Leather and Paper Chemicals (TLP) Division will retire after a highly successful career with Clariant spanning 38 years including 14 years as a member of the Executive Committee.

At the same time the decision has been made to operationally separate the Textile, Leather and Paper Business Units from each other by the end of 2009. This move will enable each business to be managed as a stand alone unit, providing the operational and strategic flexibility required to improve their profitability. The three Business Unit heads as well as the heads of Controlling and Production and Technology of the current structure will report directly to Mathias Lütgendorf.

Mathias Lütgendorf was member of the Executive Committee of privately held textile dyes and chemicals producer DyStar until the end of 2008, where he was responsible for Global Operations. Prior to this he had held several management positions within DyStar and Hoechst. He holds a PhD in chemistry from the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Germany.

“I am very pleased with the appointment of Mathias Lütgendorf. He is a senior executive from the chemical industry. His skills and experience will ensure we navigate our Textile, Leather and Paper Businesses through difficult times while at the same time increasing our footprint in Asia”, commented Clariant’s CEO, Hariolf Kottmann.