Six years after taking on the role of president of materials industry trade group PlasticsEurope, Patrick Thomas has stepped down. The new president is Daniele Ferrari, CEO of Italy's Versalis SpA, who was elected by PlasticsEurope's General Assembly June 1 in Madrid.
Daniele Ferrari paid tribute to his predecessor, praising his efficient and effective chairmanship, and for his instrumental support in developing the World Plastics Council, a platform that brings together plastics industry leaders from around the world to address the complex global issues faced by the plastics industry.
"I am very excited to take on this new responsibility and to continue the path Patrick Thomas has established in these past six years. Our industry needs to further develop partnerships based on a constructive and solution-oriented approach” Ferrari said. “If we are serious about creating solutions for the world's challenges, we need an open-minded industry that acts together with NGOs, the value chain and general public because we do and we will need plastics to be part of the solution”.
Daniele Ferrari has over 25 years of experience in the chemical industry through a variety of business. He worked for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and Huntsman in several managerial assignments in marketing, planning and business management from the United Kingdom, Belgium and the United States. In 2012, Daniele Ferrari was appointed CEO of Versalis and chairman of Matrica SpA, a 50/50 joint venture with Novamont on renewable chemistry.
Patrick Thomas announced in May that he would also be retiring from his position as CEO at Covestro, in October of next year.
