Menu OUR PEOPLE Leadership Americas EMEA Asia Pacific Breadcrumb Home About Azelis Leadership Leadership The Azelis leadership team oversees the company’s business strategy, ensuring effective corporate governance and implementing a fresh, innovative vision of chemical distribution – globally. Executive Committee Dr. Hans Joachim Müller Group Chief Executive Officer Hans Joachim Müller joined Azelis as Chief Executive Officer in 2012. Prior to joining Azelis, Dr. Müller was a member of the Managing Board and Head of the Catalytic Technologies Global Business Unit at Clariant AG, a company specializing in catalysts and adsorbents, and chief operating officer and member of the managing board of Süd-Chemie. Dr. Müller started his career at BASF, where he became director of technology and catalysts for Asia, based in Hong Kong, and then global director of specialty chemicals. Dr. Müller holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. He also obtained a research fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. Go to LinkedIn profile Thijs Bakker Chief Financial Officer Thijs Bakker joined Azelis as Chief Financial Officer in 2016. Mr. Bakker has over 20 years' international experience in finance and the chemical industry, having worked in various finance roles in the Netherlands, the United States and across the Asia Pacific region for a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. Prior to joining Azelis, Mr. Bakker worked at Nuplex Resins, a specialty chemicals manufacturing company, and was finance director marine and protective coatings at Akzo Nobel N.V. Mr. Bakker holds a master's degree in business administration and economics from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands as well as a Post Graduate Master of Finance and Control (RC) from the Rotterdam School of Management. Go to LinkedIn profile Anna Bertona Chief Executive Officer & President, EMEA Anna Bertona joined Azelis in 2013 as Group VP Strategic Planning & Implementation and was appointed Chief Strategy & Principal Officer in 2014. In 2016 she was appointed CEO & President Azelis EMEA. Prior to joining Azelis, Ms. Bertona worked in strategy consultancy, most recently as a partner within A.T. Kearney. Ms. Bertona holds a Master of Science in Industrial Design Engineering from the Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands), as well as an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management. Go to LinkedIn profile Frank Bergonzi Chief Executive Officer & President, Americas Frank Bergonzi joined Azelis in 2015. He was the President & CEO of KODA Distribution Group from 2012 and in 2015, following the acquisition of KDG Holdings, Inc. by Azelis, Mr. Bergonzi was appointed CEO & President Azelis Americas. Prior to that, Mr. Bergonzi was the Director of Corporate Distribution North America Chemicals and Plastics at BASF. Mr. Bergonzi served on the board of the National Association of Chemical Distributors and as chairman of the supplier advisory panel, in addition to his role as a board trustee of the Chemical Education Fund. He is also an active member in the Chemical Club of New England, the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, the American Coatings Association and the Drug, Chemical and Associated Trade. Mr. Bergonzi holds a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Connecticut. Go to LinkedIn profile Laurent Nataf Chief Executive Officer & President, Asia Pacific Laurent Nataf joined Azelis in 2003. In 2012, Mr. Nataf was appointed Group Chief Operating Officer of Azelis, after having exercised various positions within Azelis' Industrial Chemicals segment. In 2016, Mr. Nataf was appointed CEO & President Asia-Pacific. Mr. Nataf holds a master's degree in Engineering from the Engineering School of Industrial Chemistry of Lyon, France and an MBA from the Sorbonne Graduate Business School in Paris, France. Go to LinkedIn profile Board of Directors Executive Committee members Dr. Hans Joachim Müller and Thijs Bakker are also members of the Board of Directors, together with our partners from EQT; Kristiaan Nieuwenburg and Bert Janssens. Jürgen Buchsteiner, Dr. Antonio Trius, Dr. Alexandra Brand and Ipek Ozsuer are Non-Executive Directors. Dr. Antonio Trius Antonio Trius is the chair of the Board of Directors, having joined as a non-executive director in 2014. Dr. Trius previously held a non-executive director role at Lonza Group AG and is currently a non-executive director of several companies, including Altana AG and Nubiola Pigmentos, S.L. in the chemical industry, and Igenomix, S.L., Maxam, S.L. and Mauser Group B.V. in other industries. Prior to joining Azelis, Dr. Trius was the chief executive officer of Cognis, a specialty chemicals supplier. Dr. Trius holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and completed an executive development program (Programa de Desarrollo Directivo (PDD)) in Business Administration from IESE Business School. Go to LinkedIn profile Kristiaan Nieuwenburg Kristiaan Nieuwenburg joined Azelis as a non-executive Director in 2018. Mr. Nieuwenburg has been a partner at EQT since 2013 and has led its expansion into the Western European region. He is currently Chairman of EQT Partners Inc., head of private capital North America, and a member of EQT's global private capital management committee. Through his roles as a private equity principal, he holds or has held non-executive director and chairman roles at various companies, including activated carbon technology provider, Desotec, private company data provider, Bureau van Dijk, and abrasive and impact applications solution provider, Magotteaux, in Belgium. Mr. Nieuwenburg holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an M.Sc. in chemical engineering from Technische Universiteit Delft. Go to LinkedIn profile Bert Janssens Bert Janssens joined Azelis as a non-executive Director in 2018, having led EQT's investment in Azelis. Mr. Janssens is a partner at EQT, where he is the head of Western Europe equity, a member of EQT's global private equity management group, and responsible advisor for EQT's investment in Azelis. He joined EQT Group in 2015. Through his roles as a private equity principal, he holds or has held non-executive director roles at various companies, including Desotec in Belgium, idealista in Spain and Sitecore in Denmark. Mr. Janssens holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in mechanical engineering from KU Leuven, Belgium. Go to LinkedIn profile Jürgen Buchsteiner Jürgen Buchsteiner joined Azelis as a non-executive Director in 2018. Mr. Buchsteiner is an experienced management professional in the chemical manufacturing and distribution industries. Prior to joining Azelis, he was the chief financial officer and a member of the executive board of Brenntag AG and held multiple roles at Stinnes AG and Hüls AG. Mr. Buchsteiner holds a master's degree in business economics (Diplom-Ökonom) from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and an Executive Master of International Business from Saint Louis University. Dr. Alexandra Brand Alexandra Brand joined Azelis as a non-executive Director in 2019. Dr. Brand is the regional director for the Europe, Africa and Middle East region of Syngenta, an agricultural science and technology group, and previously held the role of chief sustainability officer at Syngenta. Prior to working at Syngenta, Dr. Brand held various management and executive roles and was involved in global research at BASF in Germany and in Mumbai, India. Dr. Brand holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Technische Universität Darmstadt. Go to LinkedIn profile Ipek Ozsuer Ipek Ozsuer has more than 20 years of significant international business experience in IT and digital solutions roles. She has held numerous high-profile roles, including senior leadership roles in business intelligence and analytics at Bayer and currently serves as Bayer's chief information officer and head of digital transformation for enabling functions. She previously held positions focusing on business services, outsourcing, data and analytics for over twelve years at Hewlett Packard, having started her career at Procter & Gamble in 1999. Ms. Özsüer holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Go to LinkedIn profile Innovation through formulation Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. Legal menu Cookie statement Privacy statement Terms & Conditions This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some of these cookies are essential to make our site work and others help us to improve by giving us some insight into how the site is being used. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie statement (Opens in a new window) I Accept Necessary Cookies Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences. 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