January 29, 2016, Cologne – Effective May 1, 2016, Dirk Van Meirvenne (52) will take charge of the Advanced Industrial Intermediates business unit at specialty chemicals company LANXESS. His predecessor Hubert Fink was appointed to the Board of Management of LANXESS AG on October 1, 2015 and has since been acting head of the business unit.

“On behalf of the entire LANXESS Board of Management, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Dr. Van Meirvenne and wish him every success in his new role. He brings with him many years of expertise and experience in facilities management, which means he is ideally placed to optimally develop business in this area,” said Fink.

Holder of a PhD in chemistry, Van Meirvenne was born in Belgium in 1963 and started his career at Bayer Antwerpen NV. Following an assignment in Thailand, he worked for Bayer Polymers in Krefeld and later for Bayer Material Science in Leverkusen. His most recent position with the Bayer Group, which he took up in May 2010, was Global Head and Managing Director of Bayer Technology Services GmbH.

The Advanced Industrial Intermediates business unit is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality industrial chemicals. Aromatic compounds play a prominent role in the product range. Production centers on the aromatics network, an integrated cluster of interconnected production facilities that is the largest of its kind in the world.

LANXESS’ high-quality intermediates are primarily used in the manufacture of agrochemicals, polymers, paints, coatings and pigments. Further important applications include cosmetics, flavorings, fragrances, fuel additives, lubricants, tires, technical rubber goods and construction chemicals.

The business unit forms part of LANXESS’ Advanced Intermediates segment, which recorded sales of EUR 1.6 billion in fiscal 2014 and has a current headcount of around 2,000.