Solvay SA has named Ilham Kadri as its next CEO.
She will begin training with current CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu in January and officially take over the spot March 1. Kadri will also be chairman of the executive committee and member of the board of directors for the Belgian material maker.
Kadri is currently CEO and president of U.S. hygiene technology and services company Diversey Inc., where she led the company's turnaround and sale to a private equity fund.
She has also previously worked for multinational companies such as Shell-Basell, UCB-Cytec, Huntsman and Dow Chemical at various global locations.
“Her knowledge of our strategic markets, strongly customer-focused mindset and her capacities to build a galvanizing vision make her the leader that the group needs,” said Solvay Chairman Nicolas Boël, in an Oct. 8 announcement.
Kadri is expected to spearhead Solvay's major restructuring plans, which it unveiled in March. Kadri said she intends to increase value creation based on innovation, collaboration and a customer-centric culture at the Brussels-based chemical company.
Kadri is a dual citizen of Morocco and France and holds an engineering degree from the European school of chemistry, polymers and materials science in Strasbourg, France, and a doctorate in macromolecular physicochemistry from Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg.