Recent developments
Boardroom governance changes
Clariant advanced board restructuring, proposing Regula Wallimann and Albert Manifold as independent directors, re-nominating Ben van Beurden as chairman, and reducing directors from eleven to eight ahead of the April 1, 2026 AGM.
Commercial leadership shifts
Topsoe named Yassir Ghiyati Chief Commercial Officer, with responsibility for HydroFlex, WSA, eREACT, SynCOR, and the catalyst business; Elena Scaltritti becomes CEO on June 1, 2026. Ghiyati brings more than 20 years in engineering, sales, and EMEA leadership.
Sustainability in coatings
Arkema expanded ISCC PLUS certification to over 70% of global coating facilities, enabling bio-attributed grades across advanced liquid and waterborne resins, rheology and specialty additives, powder resins, UV/LED/EB technologies, and acrylic monomers, with at least 20% product carbon footprint reductions. Partnerships with suppliers, distributors, formulators, and end-users support implementation.
Research collaboration initiatives
UBE and Tohoku University launched the Co-creation Research Institute for Future Driven Technologies to co-develop specialty materials for life sciences, environment and energy, and electronics, leveraging university research and UBE’s chemical expertise, and focusing also on human resource development.