Redefining Evonik's Leadership: A Fresh Perspective
Increased Female Influence within Evonik Corporation
Hop on board as we delve into the revised structure of the prominent chemical company, Evonik, and their board of directors. The corporate switcheroo includes an expansion of the top management from four to five members, owing to the new divisional setup. The old expanded board, otherwise known as the second leadership level, is axed. Two newly-appointed power players, Lauren Kjeldsen and Claudine Mollenkopf, step into the corporate board. With these additions, women will soon hold three prominent positions within the company, as the finance department has been mob-bossed by Maike Schuh (50) since April 2023.
Christian Kullmann (55) and Thomas Wessel, the personnel director and labor director, stay put on the board. Wessel, who currently serves until summer 2026, will extend his contract until summer 2028. Next year, Wessel will should some extra love to the infrastructure activities, including offloading the Performance Intermediates business unit, as well as the Next Generation Technologies, designed to support the sustainability transformation.
The Infrastructure crew is currently shopping around potential suitors for both business units. In other news, ol' Harald Schwager (64), the former BASF board member who moseyed on over to Evonik as deputy chairman in 2017, is ready to catch his horse and rodeo out by the end of March 2025.
Moving on, Boston-bred Kjeldsen, a chemical engineer who has spent her whole career hopscotching through Evonik and its affiliate organizations, will oversee the new division Custom Solutions. Business units will now be reporting directly to the board. Kjeldsen brings a stacked deck of expertise to the table; she has been keeping the books as part of the expanded board since 2020, initially handling Specialty Additives before shifting gears to Smart Materials in October 2022. Kjeldsen, a die-hard country music aficionado, will also supervise innovation and the American region.
Mollenkopf, who hails from Degussa like Kjeldsen, takes charge of the second division, Advanced Technologies, on the board. The 58-year-old has been keeping it real as part of the expanded board since October 2022 in the role of chief of Specialty Additives. Mollenkopf will manage the Asia Pacific region as well.
[1] Note: Evonik's leadership updates and role changes are ongoing, but there is currently no specific, up-to-the-minute information about the new board members and their roles. To obtain the most accurate and official information, one must consult Evonik's corporate communications or press releases directly.
- Claudine Mollenkopf, a new member of Evonik's board, will manage the Advanced Technologies division and oversee the Asia Pacific region.
- Lauren Kjeldsen, another newly-appointed board member, will be in charge of the Custom Solutions division, innovation, and the American region at Evonik.
- The finance department at Evonik is now helmed by Maike Schuh, who has been at the helm since April 2023.
- By the end of March 2025, Harald Schwager, the former deputy chairman of Evonik (who joined in 2017 from BASF), will depart Evonik.
- In 2025, Wessel, a board member of Evonik, will move his focus to infrastructure activities, which includes offloading the Performance Intermediates business unit and the Next Generation Technologies.
