Read the Letter from CEO Christian Kohlpaintner
Dear colleagues,
Today, I would like to inform you that I have decided to not extend my contract as Chief Executive Officer of Brenntag SE which expires at the end of 2025. I have informed the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management of my decision at an early stage, thirteen months before my term expires, so that they can initiate an orderly succession process and ensure a smooth transition.
This was by no means an easy decision for me. I have taken the past few weeks to carefully consider this step. I was able to make this decision with conviction and with the knowledge that Brenntag is on the right strategic path for a successful future and that our company is managed by a strong, competent, and prudent management team. At the end of my term at Brenntag, I will be 62 years old and will not pursue any further operational management responsibilities at another company.
Even though there is still plenty of time before the end of 2025, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Brenntag team, all of you, for your loyal cooperation and the great trust you have placed in me.
Along our clearly spelled out vision, we have achieved great things together over the past five years. We massively modernized Brenntag and made it future proof while at the same time shaping our industry. We have significantly improved our performance across the board, strengthened and expanded our position as the undisputed global market leader and laid the foundation for profitable growth with our organizational structure and our “Strategy to Win”. We have initiated with Project Brenntag the biggest transformation in the company and even industry history and implemented it together. We have fundamentally transformed Brenntag in challenging, extraordinary times like COVID and successfully aligned our strategy and operating model with the ever-changing needs of the markets. Our new positioning and identity are expressed in our strong Brenntag brand, and our five values which we collectively developed and presented to the public at the end of 2022 – our strong framework for our “Horizon 2” strategy execution.
We have modernized our company in many ways, maintaining our strong local and regional footprint while adding truly global thinking, perspectives, and collaboration to our organization. Building on our strong identity and our joint values, we lifted Brenntag to the next level – and from there we are ready to further grow and develop.
In parallel with our transformation, we have developed our business very successfully. We have driven our global growth, acted as the leading consolidator in our industry, and consistently optimized our company’s profitability and efficiency. In recent years, we have thus been able to achieve a significant increase in operating profit and market capitalization and in September 2021 we were included in the DAX40 index, making us a German Blue-Chip company for the first time.
Dear colleagues,
I am proud to have successfully shaped this development of Brenntag together with my colleagues on the Management Board and the entire leadership team. What Team Brenntag has achieved in recent years is an enormous success. You, the employees of Brenntag, deserve my utmost appreciation for your outstanding commitment. Without your performance and your willingness to develop and change, Brenntag would not be as well positioned for the future as it is today and would not have successfully maintained and expanded its position at the top of the chemical and ingredients distribution industry.
It fills me with pride to be part of such a courageous, hardworking, and supportive team and a member of the Brenntag family.
We still have a lot to do in the coming year. My decision does not change Brenntag’s way forward and our willingness to execute the plans. I will continue to work with the Management Board and with the support of the Supervisory Board to drive forward the transformation of Brenntag and the implementation of our “Strategy to Win” until the end of my term in December 2025.
Performance remains our priority. As we recently stated in our Q3 results presentation, we are currently operating in an extremely challenging, highly competitive market environment. We will therefore continue to work hard on our efficiency and our costs. We are focusing on further improving our operating results in both divisions.
Brenntag is the undisputed global market leader, with a robust business model, a forward-looking strategy and great potential for growth. We have set out in our strategy the path on which we will continue to develop Brenntag and make our company successful in the future. We know what needs to be done; the tasks and measures are clear.
I will continue to devote myself fully to these tasks and will work on it together with all of you at Brenntag. Thanks for your continued trust and collaboration. You can count on mine.
Kind regards,
Christian Kohlpaintner
CEO Brenntag SE
CEO Brenntag SE