ERJ Appointments Tracker: May/June

US: Evonik has named Guido Skudlarek president of the North America region effective 1 June. Bonnie Tully, who led the region since 2020, becomes chief operations officer for North America, focusing on the region’s broad footprint of production sites and new business developments. “North America has become a crucial growth region for Evonik,” said chief financial officer Maike Schuh on the appointments. The two new leaders, Maike said, will help “next phase of our growth trajectory in the US, Canada, and Mexico.”

Austria: Semperit Group’s executive board chairman and CEO Karl Haider is not extending his term with the Austrian group after its expires 31 March 2025. Read more

US: Cooper Standard has appointed Shannon Quinn to president of its ‘industrial and speciality group’, replacing Ramsey Changoo who is departing the company to pursue other career opportunities. Quinn has been tasked to progress the group’s “diversification strategy” to accelerate growth and “maximise the value of Cooper Standard's products and technologies in industrial and speciality markets.”

US: Monolith, a commercial-scale producer of 'clean' carbon black and hydrogen has recently promoted Kelsey Roste to vice president, decarbonized solutions. The company established the vice president role to help lead customer sustainability engagement. “With proven results and leadership during her tenure at Monolith thus far,” Roste is to lead corporate strategy and product positioning of Monolith’s clean materials. Prior to Monolith, she worked in the energy, renewables, power and infrastructure sectors. She graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in economics and mathematics.

US: Sealing systems manufacturer Greene Tweed has appointed Shawn McCloskey as its chief commercial officer. McCloskey brings more than 16 years of “cross-functional leadership”, having served in various positions in operations, business, and commercial functions in the industry. In his new role, he will oversee global sales, marketing, strategies and market expansion teams to drive growth. McCloskey started his career with Celanese and moved on to DuPont and its spin-off Chemours, where he served in several leadership positions for 12 years.

US: Goodyear has named Nicole Gray as SVP and chief human resources officer, effective 1 July. She will replace Gary VanderLind who announced his retirement 29 May. Gray joined Goodyear in 2016 to lead the group’s global labour and employment team. She has since moved to senior human resources leadership roles.

UK: Smithers has appointed Phil Hall as principal consultant – rubber and elastomers, within its polymer consultancy team. Hall brings a “diverse industrial background and extensive technical experience” to support clients across a range of sectors. Based at the Smithers Shropshire, UK facilities, Hall will work within the team to help clients use or develop rubber and plastic materials. Hall has 30 years of rubber and elastomeric materials experience within aerospace and defence, automotive and general manufacturing.

India: Apollo Tyre’s president of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region Satish Sharma is retiring early on 1 June and, so, also stepping down from his position as a ‘wholetime director’ of the group's board. The Indian tire maker has now appointed chief financial officer Gaurav Kumar as ‘wholetime director’. 

Belgium: Dr Ilham Kadri, CEO of Syensqo, formerly part of Solvay, has become the president of the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic). She succeeds BASF leader Dr Martin Brudermueller, who held the position for the past four years. Kadri, claimed to be “one of Europe’s most prominent and well-known business leaders”, holds a degree in chemical engineering and a PhD in macromolecular physico-chemistry. Prior to this, Kadri served as Cefic’s VP.

US: Sri Lankan tire maker GRI has named Ydo Doornbos as director of North America as part of the strategy to expand global presence. Doornbos brings nearly three decades of tire industry experience with him, having previously worked with Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) in various capacities. His most recent position at TWS was regional president North & Central America – Agricultural, mining and construction business. In 2022, Doornbos took on the role of VP business development at tire engineering company American Pacific Industries (API).

Japan: Yokohama Rubber Co. has announced that Masahiro Yuki has gained an IR office leadership role in addition to his existing positions as director & executive officer, accounting department, deputy general manager of its tire planning division, and chairman of the board of directors of Yokohama Rubber (China) Co. Ltd.

Germany: Almost half (47%) of office workers in Germany would quit their jobs if they lost the option of working from home or remotely, found a YouGov survey of over 2,000 office workers on behalf of Continental. Executive board member for HR and Sustainability Dr. Ariane Reinhart said: “Many employees got to appreciate the benefits of flexible working during the pandemic and are now no longer willing to lose them. At the same time, there are good reasons for increased office attendance.” Some 62% of respondents said spending at least half of their weekly working hours or more in the office was ideal.