The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consists of the CEO, the CFO, and two other members. The Executive Committee regularly holds meetings at the Corporate Center in Pratteln or at other Clariant sites worldwide. It uses such external meetings to discuss business performance with the management of the local companies in person.

The Executive Committee and their Responsibilities until 31 December 2015

Members of the Executive Committee

At the end of 2015, the Executive Committee comprised the following members:

Hariolf Kottmann, German citizen
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Professional career: Hariolf Kottmann earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart in 1984. In 1985 he launched his career at the former Hoechst AG in Frankfurt where he held several key management positions across the company’s chemical divisions and functions. In 1996 he was appointed Deputy Head of the Basic Chemicals Division at Hoechst AG and took responsibility for the Inorganic Chemicals BU. In 1998 he joined Celanese Ltd in New Jersey (United States) as member of the Executive Committee and Head of the Organic Chemicals BU. In April 2001 he was appointed member of the Executive Committee of SGL Carbon AG, where he was responsible for the Graphite Specialties, Corrosion Protection, and Advanced Materials Divisions as well as the Eastern Europe and Asia regions until 30 September 2008. He was also in charge of the SGL Excellence and Technology & Innovation corporate functions. He became CEO of Clariant on 1 October 2008.

Patrick Jany, German citizen
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Patrick Jany studied economics at the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris. He has been Chief Financial Officer at Clariant since 1 January 2006. In 1990 he joined Sandoz – one of Clariant’s predecessor companies. He held various positions in Finance and Controlling at Sandoz and Clariant, including Chief Financial Officer for the ASEAN region and Head of Controlling for the Pigments & Additives Division. From 2003 to 2004 he was Head of Country Organization for Clariant in Mexico. Prior to his appointment as CFO, he was Clariant’s Head of Corporate Development with responsibility for Group strategy and mergers and acquisitions.

Christian Kohlpaintner, German citizen

Christian Kohlpaintner studied Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich and completed his PhD in 1992. Between 1993 and 1997 he worked in various research departments of Hoechst AG in Germany and the United States. In 1997 he joined Celanese Ltd and held a number of leadership roles at Celanese Chemicals Corporation. In 2002 he became Vice President, Innovation of Celanese Ltd and Executive Director of Celanese Ventures Corporation. From 2003 he was a member of the Executive Committee of Chemische Fabrik Budenheim. In 2005 he became CEO. On 1 October 2009 he was appointed a member of the Executive Committee of Clariant.

Mathias Lütgendorf, German citizen

Mathias Lütgendorf studied Chemistry at RWTH in Aachen, Germany, and earned his doctorate in 1984. In the same year he joined the Research and Development department of the Fine Chemicals and Dyes Division of Hoechst AG. From 1990 he was responsible for various, mainly operational fields at Hoechst AG. From 1995 until 2008 he worked at DyStar, the textile dyes joint venture of Bayer and Hoechst. BASF also integrated its textile dyes business into DyStar in 2000, becoming the third equal partner in the venture. Mathias Lütgendorf led the global operations of the Disperse Dyes business unit and later also the Special Dyes business unit. From 2000 he was responsible for purchasing, production, and Supply Chain Management at the company as Head of Global Operations. In 2004 he was appointed member of the DyStar management board. On 1 April 2009 he was appointed member of the Executive Committee of Clariant. Mathias Lütgendorf stepped down from the Executive Committee on 31 December 2015.

Other activities and functions

The members of the Executive Committee neither undertake other activities, nor hold consultancy functions or other offices, except for Hariolf Kottmann, who is a member of the Board of Directors of Clariant Ltd and whose other activities can be found in chapter The Board of Directors and for Christian Kohlpaintner, who is chairman of the university foundation of the Technische Universität München (TUM) in Munich, Germany and member of the Senior Advisory Board of Equity Capital Management GmbH (ECM) in Frankfurt, Germany.

Management contracts with third parties

There are no management contracts with third parties.

Contractual arrangements for members of the Executive Committee

All members of the Executive Committee hold employment contracts with Clariant International Ltd, the Clariant Group’s management company. The contractual provisions are governed exclusively by Swiss law. Contracts of the members of the Executive Committee are subject to a standard notice period of 12 months.

Compensation, shareholdings and loans

Please refer to the Compensation Report and Note 14 to the Financial Statements of Clariant Ltd.