Leadership team

CEO

Calum MacLean brings extensive global CEO experience in petrochemicals, polymers and specialty chemicals from his time with INEOS, where he was a member of the founding management team, and most recently as CEO of Synthomer.

During his 17 years at INEOS, MacLean established and integrated two highly successful joint ventures in chemicals (Styrolution) and refining (PetroIneos), and therefore brings highly relevant experience in integrating and consolidating multinational blue chip chemical businesses.

Based on his background, MacLean will lead the envisaged merger of equals following the ‘best-of-both-worlds’ principle and the ambition to preserve the rich heritage of both businesses.

CFO

Stephen has over 20 years of experience managing and growing international chemicals businesses including 10 years with INEOS where he was CFO of the refining, phenol and olefins and polymers businesses, and 7 years at Synthomer plc, a FTSE 250 specialty chemicals, where he was Group CFO.

He brings significant relevant experience from these roles and driving value creation through M&A, integration, synergy realization and financing activities and optimization

EVP, Intermediates

Peter Henrichfreise is Executive Vice President Intermediates at Envalior, the global engineering materials company created through the merger of DSM Engineering Materials and LANXESS High Performance Materials.

Peter began his professional career in 1995 as a process engineer at Elf Atochem. He joined LANXESS—then part of Bayer—in 1999, where he built a successful career spanning more than two decades. During this time, he held a range of senior leadership roles across technical, operational, and commercial functions. In 2018, he was appointed Head of Direct Materials for Global Procurement & Logistics, leading the worldwide sourcing of raw and packaging materials and driving efficiency and resilience across the supply chain.

Holding a Ph.D. in Chemistry, Peter brings deep scientific expertise combined with strong strategic and operational leadership. His career progression from process and technology development into operations and business management reflects a consistent focus on innovation, performance excellence, and value creation.

In his current role as Executive Vice President Intermediates, Peter is responsible for Envalior’s global intermediates portfolio and plays a key strategic role in aligning upstream chemical value chains with the company’s engineering materials growth ambitions. With a strong foundation in science and decades of industry experience, he is committed to shaping the future of advanced chemical and materials solutions.

EVP Specialty Materials

Caroline Mitterlehner holds a Master of International Business degree from the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein in Austria and studied Strategic Marketing at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. She began her career in 2006 with DSM Engineering Materials, Envalior’s legacy predecessor, launching a distinguished 17-year tenure in the engineering materials sector. Throughout her professional journey, she has developed comprehensive expertise in advanced materials applications across marketing, sales, innovation, and business line leadership roles. Her strategic leadership experience includes serving as Director of DSM’s Innovation Program Office, where she spearheaded the development and execution of the company’s innovation strategy. As Executive Vice President of Specialty Materials at Envalior, Caroline oversees the company’s portfolio of specialty product lines, including Stanyl®, Arnitel®, ForTii®, EcoPaXX®, Xytron™, and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites – driving innovation that delivers sustainable growth for customers and industries worldwide.

EVP PERFORMANCE MATERIALS

Christophe was CEO and Managing Director of Chemetall, BASF’s Coatings division and a global leader in surface treatment before he joined Envalior.

He worked at Eramet, a leading company in Mining and Metallurgy, before joining BASF in 2009. At BASF he started his career as Managing Director for the Coatings business in France before moving to Asia in 2012 to lead the BASF Coatings business in India. In 2015, he moved to Germany, and joined the Performance Materials division of BASF, in charge of the Industrial business in EMEA before leading the M&A and integration project of the downstream part of Solvay Polyamide 6.6 business into BASF Performance Materials.

Christophe has lived and worked in France, the US, India and Germany. He is a French national graduated in engineering studies from the French Naval Academy.

EVP Manufacturing

Bob van der Leek, a seasoned executive in the chemical manufacturing industry, is EVP Manufacturing at Envalior.

Previously he held the position of Vice President of Operations Europe at Nouryon. In this role, he oversaw 25 chemical manufacturing sites in the Nordics and mainland Europe.

Prior to Nouryon, Bob held key manufacturing positions at AkzoNobel, including Site Director for Ethylene Amines and Alkoxylates in Stenungsund, Sweden, and site director for Sulfur Derivatives in Cologne, Germany, making significant contributions over the course of seven years.

His roles at AkzoNobel also included Operations Manager for "New Ventures" in Greiz, Germany, and Global Technology Manager for the AkzoNobel cellulose ethers business, where he played a crucial role in shaping technology and innovation.

Bob's early career at AkzoNobel featured diverse roles in project engineering, manufacturing, technology, and R&D across Europe, the USA, and China, providing him with a comprehensive understanding of global industry dynamics.

MD ASIA

Jason Zhang became Vice President, Performance Polymers at DSM Engineering Materials in January 2021. In his role, Jason was responsible for all performance polymer product lines, including Akulon® and Arnite®. Jason joined DSM in 2017, taking on the role of Greater China commercial director.

He has been instrumental in growing our business in the Greater China region and creating a strong regional team. Before joining DSM Engineering Materials, he worked at Dow Corning in Commercial leadership positions within APAC for ten years, including a Business Development assignment in the US.

He previously also worked for ten years at GE (Plastics & Lighting) in product management and commercial positions within the China and APAC regions.

CPO

In this role she is responsible for managing the procurement function. The role has a global scope and will be based in Dusseldorf (GER). As the CPO Paula will report to the CEO of Envalior.

Paula, a British/Irish national, joins us from the international listed chemical company Elementis PLC, where she is currently Global Procurement Director. She started her career in 1991 as an engineer in ICI before embarking on a commercial career.

When ICI spun off the Acrylics business to Ineos in 1999, Paula worked in M&A, Strategic Planning and as a Business Director, transferring to Procurement in 2008 to lead the global function. Following the sale of Ineos Acrylics to Mitsubishi, Paula focused on the business integration and won the Presidents Award in 2011 for global sourcing of raw materials.

In 2018 Paula moved to Synthomer PLC where she led an international team sourcing and trading strategic monomers.

GENERAL COUNSEL

Sascha Fehlemann serves as General Counsel and Executive Vice President Legal, IP & Compliance at Envalior since April 2023. He is responsible for all legal, compliance, governance and IP matters globally and is a member of Envalior’s Management Team.

Before joining Envalior, he held senior legal leadership roles at the international listed energy group Uniper SE, most recently as Senior Vice President Corporate Legal. In that capacity, he advised on M&A, corporate, capital markets and commercial law matters, and played a key role in Uniper’s IPO, the defense against a public takeover attempt, and the negotiations with the German government during Uniper’s stabilization in 2022.

Sascha began his career as an M&A lawyer at an international law firm before moving to the international energy group E.ON, where he held various positions in corporate and finance law. Sascha, a German/Italian national, holds a doctorate in law from the University of Münster and studied at both the University of Muenster, Germany and Roma Tre University in Rome, Italy.

CHRO

Anneleen Drieskens became Vice President P&O at DSM Engineering Materials in March 2021. In her role, she was responsible for all strategic people and organization related topics of the division.

Anneleen started her career at DSM in 2001 and has since held multiple P&O leadership roles. From 2017 to 2021 she was Global P&O Director for DSM’s Corporate Departments including Information Solutions and Business Services.

As member of their senior leadership teams, she led strategic people initiatives for these departments and managed the people and organizational side of a number global transformation programs.