Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) announced that Dr. Antonis Papadourakis will assume the responsibilities of president and chief executive officer (CEO) of LANXESS Corp. and Country Speaker for the NAFTA Region, effective July 1, 2015. Papadourakis, who has held the position of regional group president Americas at Altuglas International, a subsidiary of Arkema group, since 2012, will in addition, assume the function of business unit head, responsible for all NAFTA activities, of the High Performance Materials business unit (BU HPM).
Papadourakis began his career at Arkema in 2007 as business director, Organic Peroxides, Americas. In September 2008, he was promoted to general manager, Sustainability Additives and in February 2012, joined Altuglas International.
Prior to 2007, Papadourakis held several positions with Rohm and Haas in Bristol, Penn., London, England and in Paris, France, including purchasing manager for Performance Polymers and business manager, Packaging and Converting, Europe. In 2005, Dr. Papadourakis repatriated to the U.S. to join Engelhard Corp. (now BASF) as the global business manager for Stationary Source and Indoor Air.
A native of Greece, Papadourakis earned a degree from the University of Thessaloniki and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; both degrees are in Chemical Engineering.
The current incumbent Flemming B. Bjoernslev, president and chief executive officer is leaving his position at the Pittsburgh-based specialty chemical company to take over new responsibilities within the LANXESS group. Mr. Bjoernslev has successfully served as president and chief executive officer since October 2012, acting as the Managing Director for the NAFTA Region.