ARNHEM, The Netherlands, Aug. 13, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Frank Sherman (49) will be appointed General Manager of Akzo Nobel's Surface Chemistry business unit as of January 1, 2004. He will be based in Stenungsund, Sweden.
Mr. Sherman, currently sub-BU Manager Surfactants America, will succeed Rob Frohn who, as announced earlier, has been proposed to succeed Fritz Frohlich as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Management as of May 1, 2004, pending approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders on April 22, 2004.
For the past 26 years Mr. Sherman has had various technical and business positions with the Company. He currently manages the company's surfactant business in North and South America comprising 750 employees on 6 manufacturing sites, an R&D center in New York and a headquarters in Chicago. He joined the Surface Chemistry business unit in 1995.
Mr. Sherman began his career with Stauffer Chemical Company in manufacturing and held several sales and marketing management positions in the phosphorous chemicals and polymer chemicals businesses. After the acquisition of Stauffer's Specialty Chemical business by Akzo in 1987, he became the Business Manager for Polymerization Catalysts and Vice President of Texas Alkyls Inc., a former joint venture with Hercules.
Just prior to joining Surface Chemistry, Mr. Sherman was responsible for the emerging markets in Asia Pacific and South America for Polymer Chemicals. In this function, he established the first joint venture in China for Akzo Nobel's Chemicals Group.
Mr. Sherman has Masters degrees in both Engineering and Business Administration and is an active member in several industry groups and professional associations, including the American Chemistry Council, The Soap & Detergent Association (Board Member) and the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (Board Member).
Note for the editor
Akzo Nobel (Other OTC:AKZOY), based in the Netherlands, serves customers throughout the world with healthcare products, coatings and chemicals. Consolidated sales for 2002 totaled EUR 14 billion. The Company currently employs approximately 66,000 people in more than 80 countries. Financial results for the third quarter will be published on October 17, 2003.
Internet: www.akzonobel.com
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