Thijs Bakker to join Azelis as CFO, Laurent Nataf to move to Asia-Pacific

Specialty chemicals distributor Azelis S.A. (Antwerp, Belgium) has made several new management appointments, the group said in a statement earlier this week.

Thijs Bakker will join the company in September as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), following the retirement of Martin Hollenhorst in August. Bakker has worked for over 15 years at AkzoNobel in various finance roles in the Netherlands, the U.S. and across the Asia Pacific region. His most recent assignment was that of Finance Director Marine & Protective Coatings at AkzoNobel, based in Singapore, the announcement said.

Laurent Nataf, currently Chief Operating Officer (COO), has been appointed CEO and President Asia Pacific, effective 01. August 2016. According to Azelis, Asia represents a significant growth opportunity for the group. After a “rapid growth trajectory in China and Japan, we are strengthening our team in the region in order to further exploit the potential and accelerate our development, serving better our partners” a company representative said.

In a related move, Anna Bertona, currently Chief Strategy and Principal Officer, will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) EMEA. This move is also effective 01. August 2016

Source: Azelis press release

HGE / DCG – 06.07.2016