Arkema Announces Management Appointments

Arkema has named five new managing directors for  business units:
• Christophe Villain is being appointed managing director of the Fluorogas business unit.
• Michelle Williams is being appointed managing director of the PMMA (Altuglas International) business unit.
• Manny Katz is being appointed managing director of the Hydrogen Peroxide business unit.
• Romuald de Haut de Sigy is being appointed managing director of the Organic Peroxides activity.
• Erwoan Pezron is being appointed managing director of the Technical Polymers business unit.

Villain began his career at Elf Atochem in 1987 as polypropylene development engineer within the Appryl subsidiary. In 1990, he joined General Electric Plastics to head marketing in the automotive sector. In 1996, he became head of Elf Atochem’s Polystyrene Department, and in 2001 head of Atofina’s global Bleaching Department.

In 2003, he was appointed managing director of Arkema’s Urea Formaldehyde Resins business unit. From 2006 to 2011, he was managing director of CECA, and since 2011 had been managing director of the PMMA (Altuglas International) business unit.

Williams began her career in 1987 at Rohm and Haas Company as a research scientist. During her career with Rohm and Haas Company and Dow Chemical, Williams also held manufacturing, sales, marketing, strategy and general management positions. She was GM, CMP Technologies, and later GM, Adhesives and Sealants. Williams joined Arkema in 2011 after a 23-year career at Rohm and Haas and Dow Chemical. In 2011 she was named global group president of Arkema’s Hydrogen Peroxide business unit.

Katz began his career at M&T Chemicals, a subsidiary of the Elf group, as process development engineer. In 1990 he joined Elf Atochem ,where he held a number of commercial functions. In 2000, he became regional group president for Thiochemicals and in 2006 for Fluorochemicals in North America. From 2009 to 2011, he was VP goods and services procurement and supply chain at Arkema Inc. Since 2011, he had been global group president of the Organic Peroxides business unit.

de Haut de Sigy joined Deutsche Atochem Werke in 1990, where he held a number of industrial and marketing positions. In 1994, he joined Elf Atochem’s Strategic Planning Division, and later became director strategic planning U.S. In 1998 he became GM Functional Polymers Americas, before returning to France in 2001 to run the Organic Peroxides business for Europe and Asia. In 2007, he became director Functional Additives EMEA and, in 2011, logistics VP Arkema Group.

Pezron joined Total’s Resins Division in 1989 as R&D research scientist at the Verneuil-en-Halatte R&D Center. In 1996, he became VP technology at Cook Composites and Polymers (Total’s Resins Division) in the U.S. In 2002, he became business development director of Atofina’s Technical Polymers business, and in 2004 became R&D director for Technical Polymers and director of Cerdato (Arkema’s R&D center specializing in polymers). Since 2008, he had been managing director of the Fluoropolymers business unit.