After five years in office, Firmenich Chairman Vernon Sankey expressed his desire to retire from the Board of Directors at the end of the company’s fiscal year on June 30, 2013. Mr. Yves Boisdron has been elected as the new Chairman of Firmenich’s Board of Directors as of July 1, 2013.
He joined the Firmenich Board in October of 2006 and has served as the Vice Chairman of the Board and as the Chairman of the Governance & Compensation Committee.
Mr. Sankey joined the Firmenich Board in 2006 and succeeded Jean-Marc Bruel as Chairman in 2008. Among his many actions, Mr. Sankey nurtured and grew the world-class status of Firmenich and made a significant contribution to the overall governance of the Group. His Chairmanship began during the world’s worst economic and financial crisis since the 1930’s. Despite the economic slowdown, he ensured the resiliency of Firmenich by advocating excellence in execution and tight cost control while maintaining strategic investments into innovation.
Mr. Boisdron is a French national and holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the École Nationale Supérieure des Industries Chimiques in Nancy and a Master of Sciences and another in Business Management from the University of Texas at Austin, in the United States. He brings a comprehensive experience from his many years in the Chemical industry, as well as a broad knowledge of emerging markets.
During his prestigious career, Mr. Boisdron spent 26 years at leading specialty chemicals group, Rhodia (former Rhone-Poulenc), a world leader in the development and production of chemicals. He began his career in the Brazilian offices of Rhone-Poulenc for six years and during the following four years, developed Rhone-Poulenc Inc. in the United States, before repositioning the Group in specialty chemicals from 1991 to 1996. After, he spent seven years in Asia managing the development of Rhodia and in 2003, returned to Paris to execute the Rhodia turnaround. He has also held positions at Gist Brocades (acquired by DSM) and Badger Inc. He currently serves as President of the Board of Group DIANA, a worldwide leader in natural and functional Food solutions and palatability enhancers for Pet Food.
Firmenich is the world’s largest privately owned company in the fragrance and flavor business (No. 2 worldwide).Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, it has created many of the world’s best-known perfumes and flavors that we enjoy each day. Its passion for smell and taste is at the heart of its success. It is renowned for its creativity and innovation, as well as its exceptional understanding of consumer trends. Each year, it invests around 10% of its turnover in R&D, reflecting its continuous desire to understand, share and sublimate the best that nature has to offer. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 2.64 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2012.
