The Supervisory Board of Linde has appointed Thomas Blades (55) as a new member of the Executive Board. Blades succeeds J. Kent Masters (51), who steps down today from the Linde Executive Board. Blades will assume his position by 1 April 2012 at the latest.

Blades' most recent role was as CEO of the Oil & Gas Division in Siemens's Energy Sector. An electrical engineer and a British national, Blades has a wealth of international experience in the oil and gases business.

Like his predecessor, Mr Masters, he will be the Executive Board member responsible for the Group's gases business in North and South America, as well as for the liquefied gases and cylinder gas business and global healthcare operations.