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



    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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    *T
    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
    *T

    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.

    www.clariant.com