Donald Chen named CEO of Arlanxeo

As of 1 May, Donald Chen will succeed Jorge Nogueira as chief executive officer of Arlanxeo. Nogueira is retiring from the rubber manufacturer after a career spanning nearly 40 years in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

“With Donald Chen we have an experienced leader and industry expert joining the company,” states Abdulaziz M. Al-Judaimi, chairman of the Arlanxeo Shareholders’ Committee and senior vice-president of Downstream at parent company Saudi Aramco. “He has spent many years of his working life in the Asia-Pacific region, a key growth region for Arlanxeo. Donald joins Arlanxeo in a critical market environment and we are confident he will lead the company through the current transition and drive growth.”

At the same time, Al-Judaimi thanked the current chief executive officer: “I would like to thank Jorge Nogueira on behalf of the entire Shareholders’ Committee for his strong leadership and dedication working for Arlanxeo. He successfully built and positioned Arlanxeo as the leading rubber producer and he was key to its smooth transition. I wish Jorge all the best in his future endeavours.”

Donald Chen joins Arlanxeo from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), where he was responsible for operations in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, since January 2016 and was also a member of the company’s Executive Council. He previously worked as vice-president at Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical. He also served as regional vice-president for Hydrocarbon & Energy at Dow Chemical and as vice-president for Major Projects in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region. Before, he held various positions at Royal Dutch Shell in research and development, commercial and marketing, strategy and planning and operations and business development in China, Europe, the Middle East and Pacific for almost twenty years. He has a Master’s degree in engineering and a doctorate from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.