Christian Kohlpaintner
Chief Executive Officer
Christian Kohlpaintner (nationality: German), born in 1963, joined Brenntag as a Member of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2020.
The Ph.D. chemist has more than 25 years of management experience in the chemical industry. This includes international executive roles in both China and the US where he lived and worked for several years. Christian Kohlpaintner began his professional career at Hoechst, where he held various positions in Germany and the US. Afterwards he moved to Celanese, where he worked amongst others as Marketing Director and as Vice President for Innovations.
Between 2003 and 2009, Christian Kohlpaintner worked for Chemische Fabrik Budenheim, where his last position was CEO. In 2009, he joined Clariant in Switzerland as a member of the Executive Committee where he was amongst others responsible for the growth-oriented business areas and the region of Asia.
Georg Müller
Chief Financial Officer
Georg Müller (nationality: German), born in 1965, joined Brenntag in 2003. He was appointed Member of the Management Board and Chief Financial Officer in 2012.
Prior to joining Brenntag, Georg Müller held different functions in banking as well as in the controlling and treasury departments of chemical and logistics companies. At Brenntag, he was in charge of different rounds of financing. Upon the IPO in March 2010, he also took responsibility for the company’s Investor Relation activities.
Henri Nejade
Chief Operating Officer Brenntag Specialties
Henri Nejade (nationality: French), born in 1962, Member of the Management Board effective July 1, 2015, joined Brenntag in 2008. In the Management Board he holds the position of Chief Operating Officer Brenntag Specialties
He has a diverse international background with more than 30 years of industry experience. In 2000, Henri Nejade joined Elkem Silicones (Ex-Rhodia Silicones) as Global Sales & Marketing Director and was appointed Global Strategic Business Unit Director in 2003. From 2005 to 2008, Henri Nejade was Vice President and Director of International Business for Solvay (Ex-Rhodia Group). Prior to Rhodia, Henri Nejade held different functions in sales and distribution, marketing, and product management at General Electric Group. From 2008 to 2020, he was Chief Executive Officer Brenntag Asia Pacific, and from September to December 2020, he was also responsible for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East & Africa) as CEO.
Steven Terwindt
Chief Operating Officer Brenntag Essentials
Steven Terwindt (nationality: Dutch), born in 1967, Member of the Management Board effective August 1, 2020, joined Brenntag in 1998. In the Management Board he holds the position of Chief Operating Officer Brenntag Essentials.
In his long career at Brenntag, Steven Terwindt held various leadership positions within the company in Latin, Central, and North America. In 2012, Steven was appointed Vice President of Brenntag Canada Inc. and was promoted in 2013 to President of Brenntag Canada Inc. In 2016, he joined the Brenntag North America Leadership team as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In August 2020, he has been appointed as President & Chief Executive Officer Brenntag North America and Member of the Management Board of Brenntag Group.
Ewout van Jarwaarde
Chief Transformation Officer
Ewout van Jarwaarde (nationality: Dutch), born in 1983, joined Brenntag as a Member of the Management Board effective January 1, 2021. As Chief Transformation Officer he is responsible amongst other things for the execution of the company’s global transformation program “Project Brenntag”, functional excellence, digital and data-driven business opportunities and the IT and Indirect Procurement functions.
Ewout van Jarwaarde has gained extensive management experience driving growth, building businesses, transforming organizations commercially and operationally and building digital- and data-driven capabilities across various industries globally. He worked for 9 years at McKinsey & Company in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he was elected partner in 2014. From 2017 to 2020, Ewout van Jarwaarde was CEO of CarNext.com, a Pan-European marketplace for high quality used cars, part of LeasePlan.