Clariant Announces Key Senior Management Appointments; Changes Strengthen Commitment to World-Class Performance

13/06/2007 - 11:10

Clariant International Ltd (SWX:CLN):

-- Two of four divisions - PA and TLP - to be led by
externally-recruited executives

-- Head of Group Technology to retire by year-end; search for
replacement underway

-- Increased focus on people management; Human Resources head
promoted to Board of Management

-- New head of Group Communications to be appointed

-- New head of Group Legal appointed

-- Head of Group Operational Excellence appointed

-- Dedicated head for Region Europe appointed

Clariant today announced a comprehensive series of senior
management appointments to strengthen its commitment to achieving
World-Class Performance.

The appointments create a leadership team that blends highly
experienced, long-standing Clariant executives with outside talent,
all of whom have excellent track records in driving change and
achieving outstanding results. This also marks a major step forward in
developing a culture characterized by a customer and market
orientation, entrepreneurship, innovation and strong accountability.

"Our strategic direction is the right one and we are making
progress toward achieving our goals," Clariant CEO Jan Secher said.
"To further accelerate our progress, I have made several key
appointments to strengthen the team and to deliver on our promises."

New Board of Management

To lead the Textile, Leather & Paper Chemicals Division, the
company has appointed Philippe Royer, who will take up his duties on
July 1st. Mr. Royer, a French national, has spent most of the past
decade as head of several business units for the global aluminium
group Alcoa.

To lead the Pigments & Additives Division, the company has
appointed Okke Koo, who will take up his duties on August 1st. Mr.
Koo, a Dutch national, was until recently the chief executive of
Avebe, a Netherlands based starch manufacturer, with offices in 20
countries and approximately 2,000 employees.

In recognition of the vital importance of people management and of
further developing a world-class performance culture, the Human
Resources function will become a Board of Management-level position on
July 1st and will continue to be led by Johann Steiner.

Current Board of Management Members

Patrick Jany, Chief Financial Officer, Siegfried Fischer, head of
the Functional Chemicals, Dominik von Bertrab, head of Masterbatches,
and Peter Brandenberg, head of Services and International
Coordination, will remain in their current roles on the Board of
Management.

In Group Technology, which includes driving and coordinating
Research and Development, the current head, Hartmut Wiezer, will be
retiring at the end of the year after a long and successful career
with the company. Mr. Wiezer will continue to be involved as a
consultant to Clariant for selected key projects. Clariant has started
its search for a new head of Group Technology and expect to make an
appointment toward the end of the year. "We are grateful to Hartmut
for his many strong contributions to the company and look forward to
his continued support," Mr. Secher said.

Peter Piringer, currently the head of the Textile, Leather & Paper
Chemicals Division and Uwe Nickel, currently the head of the Pigments
& Additives Division will be leaving the company after short
transition periods to pursue their careers outside of Clariant. The
Board of Directors and Mr. Secher would like to extend their gratitude
to Messrs. Piringer and Nickel for many years of valuable contribution
and dedication to the company and wish them the very best for the
future.

New Head of Group Communications

Walter Vaterlaus, head of Group Communications, will be leaving
Clariant in August to take up a position outside of Clariant. His
replacement will be named shortly.

New Head of Group Legal

Andreas Walde has been appointed Head of Legal, replacing Herbert
Wohlmann, who will be retiring on September 1st after nearly four
decades of distinguished service to the company, for which the Board
and Mr. Secher would like to express their sincere gratitude. Mr.
Walde has served as legal counsel to Clariant since 1998.

Appointments for Group Operational Excellence and Europe

Renaud Spitz has been appointed head of the newly formed Group
Operational Excellence (GOE) reporting to the CEO. The GOE team is
focused on supporting and enhancing change management initiatives and
continuous improvement processes across the company. Mr. Spitz has
until recently been Country President for France, a role that will be
taken by Arnaud Frete.

To enable Clariant to manage its European businesses in an
increasingly cohesive and efficient manner, Hans Schmidt, currently
Country President for Germany, has been appointed as Region President
Europe, reporting to Peter Brandenberg. Henri Schloemer, currently
head of Finance and Administration for Germany, will take over as
Country President for Germany.

"I am convinced that this substantially strengthened team will
enable Clariant to compete successfully with the very best in our
industry," Mr. Secher said.

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Calendar of Corporate Events

August 2, 2007 First Half 2007 Results
November 7, 2007 Nine Month 2007 Results
February 14, 2008 Full Year 2007 Results
April 10, 2008 Annual General Meeting
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Clariant - Exactly your chemistry.

Clariant is a global leader in the field of specialty chemicals.
Strong business relationships, commitment to outstanding service and
wide-ranging application know-how make Clariant a preferred partner
for its customers.

Clariant, which is represented on five continents with over 100
group companies, employs about 21 500 people. Headquartered in Muttenz
near Basel, it generated sales of around CHF 8.1 billion in 2006.

Clariant's businesses are organized in four divisions: Textile,
Leather & Paper Chemicals, Pigments & Additives, Masterbatches and
Functional Chemicals.

Clariant is committed to sustainable growth springing from its own
innovative strength. Clariant's innovative products play a key role in
its customers' manufacturing and treatment processes or else add value
to their end products. The company's success is based on the know-how
of its people and their ability to identify new customer needs at an
early stage and to work together with customers to develop innovative,
efficient solutions.