Hariolf Kottmann

Chairman of the Executive Committee, responsible for Clariant Excellence, Group Legal & Compliance, Group HR, Group Communications and Corporate Development. He became CEO of Clariant on October 1, 2008. 

Hariolf Kottmann earned his PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Stuttgart in 1984. In 1985, he launched his career at the former Hoechst AG in Frankfurt where he held several key management positions across the company’s chemical divisions and functions.

In 1996, he was appointed deputy head of the Basic Chemicals Division at Hoechst AG and took responsibility for the Inorganic Chemicals BU. In 1998, he joined Celanese Ltd in New Jersey (USA) as a member of the Executive Committee and Head of the Organic Chemicals business.

In April 2001, he was appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of SGL Carbon AG where he was responsible for the Advanced Materials Division and the Eastern Europe and Asia regions until September 30, 2008. He was also in charge of the SGL Excellence, Technology and Innovation corporate functions.