Univar Announces Senior Leadership Change in Europe
- Categories: Univar Europe News
- 01 May 2008
Univar Announces Senior Leadership Change in Europe
Rotterdam, The Netherlands – May 1, 2008 – Univar N.V., a world leader in chemical distribution, today announced that John Phillpotts, president of Univar Europe, will be leaving the company after a 40-year career with Univar and its predecessors, effective June 1, 2008. According to Terry Hill, senior vice president and chief commercial officer, “John’s contribution to the development of Univar in Europe has been extremely significant. He will be missed by all who had the pleasure of working with him.” Univar expects to appoint a replacement to head Univar Europe in the near future. An executive search is underway for an outstanding candidate.
“John leaves with all of our best wishes for the future and our thanks for helping create a cohesive Univar Europe from the disparate country entities inherited after the spin-off from Vopak in 2002,” added Hill. “Today, Univar Europe is an integrated European business, providing local service from an industry-focused platform, ‘European solutions delivered locally.’ John was instrumental in developing this platform and our strategy, which remain constant going forward. We look forward to continuing to provide a Europe- wide solution to suppliers, while striving to deliver the best local service for customers.”
John McKenzie, Univar Europe vice president – marketing and commercial, has been named acting president of Univar Europe, effective immediately. He will report to Mr. Hill until a permanent president is appointed.
Univar N.V. is one of the world’s leading independent distributors of industrial chemicals and providers of related specialty services, operating throughout North America and Europe. Univar endeavors to service its customer base, made up of some 250,000 industrial customers, with a full portfolio of products. The majority are commodities that the company buys in bulk, then processes, blends and repacks to meet the diverse requirements of the industries we serve. Others are specialties – purchased pre-packaged and sold on a technical basis, usually under a manufacturer’s own brand. Univar operates a network of over 200 distribution centers, located throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and China. In 2007, Univar reported sales of USD 8.1 billion. Univar has approximately 7,700 employees based throughout North America, Europe and China. The company’s registered office is in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with administrative support offices in Bellevue, Washington, USA, and Bradford, England, UK. For more information, visit: http://www.univareurope.com/ and http://www.univarcorp.com/.
For further information please contact:
Karen Weber-Millstein Florence Garson Zylberman
Corporate Communications Univar Europe
Tel: +1-425-889-3475 Tel: +33 (0) 1 48 76 60 27
E-mail: karen.webermillstein@univarusa.com E-mail: florence.garson@univareurope.com
Website: http://www.univarcorp.com/