Archroma: Valerie Diele-Braun appointed President Paper Solutions

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, has appointed Valerie Diele-Braun to the post of President Paper Solutions and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). In her new role, Ms. Diele-Braun joins the Archroma Leadership Team and reports directly to CEO Alexander Wessels. She will lead the company's Paper Solutions Business globally and will support the EMEA region for all businesses.

Prior to joining Archroma in early 2014 as Head of Strategic Marketing, Ms. Diele-Braun was Head of Sales and Product Management for the Personal Care Division of DSM Nutritional Products. Previously, she was Managing Director of her own consulting company, focusing on delivering world-class strategies for B2B and B2C clients. Earlier in her career she held the post of Vice President Global Key Account Management for Quest International which later became part of Givaudan.

Valerie Diele-Braun succeeds Helmut Wagner, who has been appointed Chief Purchasing Officer and will be responsible for global strategic projects such as the company's business process outsourcing project. Mr. Wagner will continue to be a member of Archroma's Leadership Team.

Helmut Wagner started his career with Sandoz, now Clariant, in 1979. He held several positions in the group, including Head of Procurement & Sourcing for the Textile, Leather & Paper Division from 1992 to 2002. In 2002, Mr. Wagner became Head of Clariant's Business Unit Paper Specialties. Following the transfer of Clariant's paper business in September 2013, Mr. Wagner was appointed as Archroma's President Paper Solutions.

Announcing the appointments, Alexander Wessels, CEO, Archroma, said: "These two appointments reflect our drive to ensure that we have the best and most experienced people in positions where they can make a difference."

"We have ambitious growth plans - organically and through acquisition - to become the preferred supplier of our industries. As a strategy specialist, Valerie Diele-Braun will oversee the building of overarching commercial excellence and capability across all the Archroma businesses globally. She will also identify and explore new business segments for the company, leveraging existing technologies and fostering innovation. With her extensive pre-Archroma experience, Valerie Diele-Braun will not only manage our business today, she will also drive potential business development that will allow us to support our customers as they face the challenges of the paper industry tomorrow."

"Meanwhile Helmut Wagner will focus on procurement. This is an area where his very strong expertise will be much needed in order to enable Archroma to continue to have the best in class procurement with our world class focus on quality and sustainability. His proven experience as a business leader will help us to be best in class at all times."