Arlanxeo executives, location announced

Cologne, Germany – Lanxess AG and Saudi Aramco have announced the members of the executive board of Arlanxeo, their previously announced 50:50 synthetic rubber joint venture which is set to launch 1 April.

Both companies will have equal representation on the board consisting of four members, said Lanxess in an announcement.

Lanxess will be represented by Jan Paul de Vries, who will assume the position of chief executive officer (CEO), and Jorge Nogueira, who will become member of the executive board.

Saudi Aramco will be represented by Ali Ba-Baidhan and Fayez Alsharef who will become chief financial officer and chief procurement officer, respectively. In addition, Johan Gerrese from Saudi Aramco will become Arlanxeo's general counsel and secretary.

“Arlanxeo will be provided with a strong, international executive team who will bring the respective skills of both partner companies in an ideal manner,” said Zachert, Chairman of the board of management of Lanxess AG who will also serve as the chairman of the shareholders’ committee of Arlanxeo.

“We are pleased to confirm these senior appointments of proven and respected leaders.  I am confident they will serve Arlanxeo and its global customers well,” Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaib, senior vice president downstream, Saudi Aramco said.

The headquarters of Arlanxeo will be in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Lanxess and Saudi Aramco signed an agreement in September last year to create a 50:50 rubber joint venture for tire industry, auto-parts manufacturing and a wide range of other applications.

Biographies

Jan Paul de Vries was born in the Netherlands. In 1984, he joined DSM where he held various management positions. In 2008, he took over the management of the DSM elastomers business unit. Following the acquisition of this business by Lanxess in May 2011, he moved to the speciality chemicals company. Since January 2013, he has been responsible for the global business of the high performance elastomers business unit.

Jorge Alberto Nogueira was born in Argentina. He began his career with US chemical company Dow Chemical in Brazil. From 2007, he was chief executive officer of the Brazilian elastomeric producer Petroflex, SA. Following its acquisition by Lanxess, Nogueira held various management positions in the specialty chemicals company. Since January 2015, he has led the business unit Tire & Specialty Rubbers.

Ali Ba-Baidhan was born in Saudi Arabia. He began his career with Saudi Aramco in 1984 and has served in various accounting, corporate finance and treasury positions. Since February 2013, he has served as manager of the operation accounting department of Saudi Aramco. He currently serves on the board of directors of Aramco Gulf Oil Company (AGOC).

Fayez Alsharef began his career with Saudi Aramco in 2002 and before that he worked with Sabic for nine years. He was vice president, chemicals sales and marketing at Aramco Trading Company from January 1st 2014 to October 2015, after which he moved to become the manager of domestic sales and logistics department responsible for Saudi Aramco's domestic sales of all feedstocks and fuels.

Johan Gerrese was born in Brazil.  He started his legal career in private practice in Houston, Texas and subsequently served in various senior attorney and general counsel roles in the USA, Europe and Asia. Johan joined Saudi Aramco as Counsel in 2014.