Change CEO structure DSM-Firmenich
04-05-2023 DSM-Firmenich has announced a change in the company's CEO structure due to the upcoming merger between DSM and Firmenich International on May 8, 2023.
The current co-CEO structure, in which both CEOs have additional CFO and COO responsibilities, will be changed as of September 1, 2023. From then on, Dimitri de Vreeze will be the CEO of DSM-Firmenich and Ralf Schmeitz will be appointed CFO. Having played a key role in DSM's success and strategic transformation, including the merger with Firmenich, Geraldine Matchett has decided to pursue her career elsewhere. This decision is fully in line with the objectives of DSM-Firmenich and will be gratefully accepted by the Executive Board in September.
Ralf Schmeitz has experience in Finance & Control, Treasury, Taxation and M&A and holds three Master's Degrees in Economics, Accountancy and Business valuation. He began his career at PWC and then spent seven years at Hewlett Packard in various management positions. He joined DSM in 2006 and was instrumental in the transformation of DSM Finance in recent years and in supporting DSM's significant portfolio changes. As Group Controller at DSM, he led the group's Business Controlling & Accounting teams. Ralf will join the board of DSM-Firmenich as CFO as of September 1, 2023.
Thomas Leysen, Chairman of DSM-Firmenich, commented: “Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze have together brought about an impressive and widely admired transformation of DSM during their tenure as Co-CEOs. Their highly complementary skillsets, experiences and personalities enabled them to rapidly build on the strong legacy they inherited. Together they forged a new destiny for DSM, which culminated in the ground-breaking and soon to be completed merger of DSM and Firmenich. With the merger now a reality, we have together determined that the dual leadership that has served DSM so well during a period of significant change, is no longer needed for DSM-Firmenich going forward. The Board has full confidence in Dimitri to continue building on their exceptional work and is pleased to welcome Ralf in the role of CFO.