Solvay today presented the new structure for its business activities and leadership team. The Group has redesigned its organization, with a far-reaching review of business processes and corporate functions, and a focus on simplifying and decentralizing its management structure. Thanks to these changes, Solvay is more agile and in a better position to seize growth opportunities, whilst keeping customer focus, operational excellence, corporate social responsibility, and innovation in sustainable chemistry, at the top of its priorities.

Five Operating Segments showcasing Solvay's areas of expertise

Showcasing Solvay's areas of expertise, the new business organisation has five Operating Segments. The Operating Segments reflect the different business models most adequate to the diverse business drivers and competitive dynamics across the Group's portfolio, ensuring focus on the critical levers for success.

The Operating Segments and their comprising Global Business Units (GBU) are at the heart of the Group's growth and value creation ambition. They are committed to delivering growth, profits and cash generation in the short and mid-term. Reflecting the entrepreneurial spirit embedded within Solvay's culture, the GBUs focus on customers and markets, and are endowed with the relevant operational levers to execute their strategic roadmaps.

Effective as from January 1st, 2013, Solvay's business organisation is as follows:

- Consumer Chemicals serves the consumer products markets. Its strategy is based on the development of a sustainable offering suited to the major market mega trends of demographic growth, emerging markets' increasing purchase power, the appearance of new modes of consumption and a demand for safer, more sustainable and bio-based solutions.

- Advanced Materials focuses on ultra-high performance applications addressing the needs of industries such as advanced transportation, healthcare, energy efficient tires, automotive emission control, smart devices or hybrid vehicles batteries.

- Performance Chemicals operates in specific, highly resilient and mature markets whose key success factors are principally, economies of scale, competitiveness, and quality of service.

- Functional Polymers brings together the Chloro-Vinyls chain and Polyamide activities of the Group to serve mainly the construction and infrastructure, automotive and electrical/electronics industries.

- Corporate Business and Services includes the Solvay Energy Services GBU as well as all the Corporate Functions, including Solvay Business Services and the Research & Innovation Center.

The Executive Committee, a collegial body to support business and growth

Acting as a collegial body, the Executive Committee is responsible for the Group's vision, setting mid and long-term strategy, monitoring delivery of results and optimizing resource allocation across businesses. It is collectively responsible for overall value creation and for the preservation of the Group's global interests.

The Executive Committee includes six members: Jean-Pierre Clamadieu (CEO), Bernard de Laguiche (CFO), Gilles Auffret, Vincent De Cuyper, Roger Kearns and Jacques van Rijckevorsel. Each member of the Executive Committee closely supervises dedicated Operating Segments and Corporate Functions.

The Group financial communication will follow this new organization structure in five Operating Segments as from January 1st 2013.