Azelis Group, a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that its Board of Directors has appointed Anna Bertona as new chief executive officer, starting on 1 January 2024. She will succeed Dr. Hans Joachim Müller, who has decided to retire at the end of the year. Anna has also been nominated to join the Azelis Board of Directors.

Anna brings a wealth of industry experience and intimate knowledge of Azelis to the role of group chief executive officer, having worked at Azelis for almost a decade, most recently as chief executive officer and president EMEA since 2016. In her role as chief executive officer and president EMEA, she strengthened relationships with principals, invested in innovation capabilities, and grew the EMEA business from €749m (2016) to €1,812m (2022), through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. Anna was also instrumental in helping shape the strategy of the group, having started as Head of Strategy in 2013. In addition, as the executive committee sponsor for the group’s sustainability agenda, Anna has consistently demonstrated her commitment to the group’s objective to lead the industry in sustainable value propositions.

Dr. Hans Joachim (Jochen) Müller has decided to retire after serving more than ten years as group chief executive officer. In this time, Azelis grew from an EMEA-focused specialty distributor with revenue of €875m in 2012 to a truly global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry with a revenue of €4,109m (2022). Under his leadership, Azelis has made significant strides to become the industry reference for innovative solutions, centered around the lateral value chain. Jochen’s leadership has been critical in delivering this journey, including through the successful initial public offering of Azelis in September 2021, which was the third largest IPO ever on Euronext Brussels.

Dr. Antonio Trius, chair of the Board of Directors of Azelis, said, “We look forward to working with Anna, who has collaborated closely with Jochen and the Azelis Board for close to a decade, and in whom we have the utmost confidence in her ability to deliver a continuation of Azelis’ successful growth story. On behalf of the Azelis Board, I would like to thank Jochen for his many years of service to Azelis. He has been instrumental in transforming Azelis over the last decade into the business it is today, having presided over a near 5x increase in revenues. We are grateful for his immense dedication to the role and wish him the very best in his retirement.”

Dr. Hans Joachim Müller, current Azelis chief executive officer, said, “Having worked closely with Anna for many years, I am confident Azelis will continue to go from strength to strength under her leadership as chief executive officer. Anna’s success as chief executive officer and president of Azelis EMEA is a testament to her capabilities as a business leader, and I know she will bring the same level of dedication and commitment to the role of Azelis chief executive officer. I look forward to working with Anna in the coming months as she transitions into the group chief executive officer role.”

Anna Bertona, incoming Azelis chief executive officer, said, “I am delighted to have been appointed to lead Azelis as chief executive officer. I strongly believe that Azelis has a winning strategy centered on delivering value to its customers and principals, through a relentless focus on innovation, digitalization, and sustainability. The drive and dedication of all our employees around the world are a critical element behind the success of Azelis. I look forward to building on the impressive journey Azelis has had under Jochen’s tenure and leading Azelis in the next chapter of exciting growth and development.”