Evonik appoints new COO

As of 1 July, specialty chemicals company Evonik Industries AG will have a new chief operating officer. Dr Ralph Sven Kaufmann will take the place of Patrick Wohlhauser, whose departure as COO and as a member of the company’s Executive Board was unanimously approved at a meeting of the Evonik Industries Supervisory Board on 25 June. Wohlhauser has served as COO since 1 January 2014 and been a member of the Executive Board since 1 April 2011.

According to Supervisory Board chairman Dr Werner Müller, Wohlhauser is leaving the company “on highly amicable” terms. “Evonik has much to thank him for,” he added. “Mr Wohlhauser played a key role in shaping our chemicals operations over many years and most recently contributed to the successful bundling of our business in the segment structure. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Mr Wohlhauser most sincerely for that.”

Müller described Dr Kaufmann as “a highly qualified successor who has known the company for many years as he has worked as consultant on a wide range of projects.” In his 14 years as a managing partner of Scopein Management Consultants (Düsseldorf, Germany), Kaufmann has advised many companies in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, including Evonik, on optimising their operational efficiency and business portfolio.

Kaufmann trained in banking and studied economics and business administration at the universities of Cologne and New York and obtained his doctorate from the University of Cologne in 1995. He started his career in Corporate Controlling at Henkel KGaA and subsequently worked as a project manager at the strategic management consultancy Droege & Comp. GmbH.

In addition to taking on the role of COO, Kaufmann will join Evonik’s Executive Board. “I look forward to working with Dr Kaufmann, who has already supported us effectively in the past with his expertise and experience,” shares board chairman Klaus Engel.