Leadership Change at ARLANXEO

Jorge Nogueira to take over as Chief Executive Officer from Jan Paul de Vries

Maastricht – Jorge Nogueira will take over as Chief Executive Officer of rubber specialist ARLANXEO with effect from September 9, 2017. The Argentinian succeeds Jan Paul de Vries, who is leaving the company to seek a new professional challenge.

A joint venture between the Cologne-based specialty chemicals company LANXESS and Saudi Arabian oil producer Saudi Aramco, ARLANXEO is one of the world’s leading suppliers of synthetic rubber. “In Jorge Nogueira, a recognized industry and market expert is taking over as CEO,” said Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the Shareholders’ Committee of ARLANXEO. “He will drive the company forward in a persisting difficult market environment.” Until now, Nogueira has headed up the Tire & Specialty Rubbers (TSR) business unit of ARLANXEO. He has served as a member of the Executive Board since the company was founded in April 2016.

At the same time, Zachert thanked the current CEO: “Jan Paul de Vries outstandingly positioned ARLANXEO in its establishment phase and was instrumental in ensuring that it has become one of the strongest players in the rubber sector. I wish him all the best for the future, both professionally and personally.”

Jorge Nogueira was born in Argentina. His career began in Brazil with the U.S. company Dow Chemical. After holding various managerial positions at the French chemical company Rhône-Poulenc in Brazil, China, the United States and France, he became CEO of the Brazilian company Petroflex S.A. in 2007. After Petroflex was acquired by LANXESS, Nogueira served in various leadership positions with the specialty chemicals company beginning in 2008. He has been in charge of the Tire & Specialty Rubbers business unit since January 2015.

Christian Widdershoven will join the four-member Executive Board of ARLANXEO on behalf of LANXESS. He is currently Managing Director of ARLANXEO Netherlands B.V. and head of the Keltan EPDM business. Born in the Netherlands, Widdershoven previously held leadership positions in the rubber sector at DSM and LANXESS.

About ARLANXEO

ARLANXEO is a world-leading synthetic rubber company with sales of around EUR 2.7 billion in 2016, about 3,800 employees and a presence at 20 production sites in nine countries. The company’s core business is the development, manufacturing and marketing of high-performance rubber for use in, for example, the automotive and tire industries, the construction industry, and the oil and gas industries. ARLANXEO was established in April 2016 as a joint venture of LANXESS and Saudi Aramco.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by ARLANXEO management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.