DSM Announces Changes to Supervisory Board Members

The supervisory board chairman, Rob Routs will retire and be succeeded by Thomas Leysen.
The supervisory board chairman, Rob Routs will retire and be succeeded by Thomas Leysen.

Royal DSM has announced that Rob Routs will retire as chairman and member of the DSM supervisory board, and Thomas Leysen will succeed him as chairman. Furthermore, it announces that the board will nominate Corien M. Wortmann-Kool to join as a new supervisory board member.

Related: DSM Releases its 2020 Integrated Annual Report

Rob Routs has been a member of the DSM board since April 2010 and chairman since May 2011. Under his guidance, DSM continued the restructuring of its portfolio and its evolution.

Leysen, who joined the supervisory board in 2020, will succeed Routs after the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

The nomination of Wortmann-Kool will strengthen the supervisory board’s profile in the areas of finance, accounting, auditing and risk. Her nomination will also help maintain the supervisory board’s strong profile in the areas of sustainability, governance, compliance and public affairs. 

Wortmann-Kool has served as the chair of the board of ABP Pension Fund (The Netherlands) since 2015, vice-chair of the supervisory board of Aegon N.V. and chair of the supervisory board of Save the Children NL. 

Rob Routs, outgoing chairman of the DSM supervisory board, commented, “I am incredibly grateful to have served ten years as chairman and eleven years as member of the supervisory board of this incredible company. Geraldine and Dimitri have taken up their new joint role seamlessly and I am proud that DSM is now well-positioned to capitalize on its long-term strategy, to use its science-based capabilities to create a positive impact and to deliver value for all stakeholders. I am pleased and feel very comfortable to hand-over to Thomas Leysen, whose experience will support DSM’s leadership on the company’s on-going journey to create brighter lives for all.”

Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze, Co-CEOs of DSM, commented, “We would like to express our deep gratitude to Rob Routs for his guidance, challenge and collaboration, which have been invaluable to us throughout his tenure. We would especially like to thank him for staying an extra year to support the transition as we became Co-CEOs. At the same time we are pleased to continue working with Thomas Leysen in his new role as chairman.”

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