Azelis announced the appointment of Laurent Nataf as Chief Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Officer, a new strategic function within the group's Executive Committee. Sertaç Sürür is appointed as the group's new CEO & President for Azelis Asia Pacific, and joins the Executive Committee in his new role, expanding Azelis' executive leadership to six members. As part of Azelis' strategy of growth acceleration, Laurent Nataf, currently CEO & President of Azelis Asia Pacific, is assuming the role of Chief M&A Officer effective 1 September, 2022.

The creation of this new role within the Executive Committee reflects the continued importance of the group's M&A program to complement its organic growth development in strengthening its footprint and market leadership. Laurent will further develop and execute Azelis' global M&A strategy, in line with the group's ambitious growth plans, and will also oversee post-acquisition integration programs. Laurent will be leveraging his leadership skills and experience in business development, having led the acquisition of 17 companies for Azelis in Asia Pacific. Under Laurent's leadership, the group's Asia Pacific business grew from 8% to over 15% of group revenue and expanded Azelis' footprint to cover 12 countries in the region.

Sertaç Sürür, currently Managing Director of Azelis Turkey, will assume the leadership of the Asia Pacific region from Laurent Nataf. Since joining in 2015, Sertaç has performed various local and regional leadership roles, and has developed the group's Turkish business from 2% to almost 6% of Azelis' EMEA revenue, steering the business to become a leading specialty chemical distributor in the domestic market. Prior to joining Azelis, Sertaç held various commercial and management leadership positions at global industrial and chemical distribution and production companies, including DSM and Ravago.

As members of the Executive Committee, Laurent and Sertaç will both report to Group CEO, Dr. Hans Joachim Müller. They will commence transitioning into their new roles shortly to ensure a smooth and seamless handover.Dennis Verhaert, the current Group M&A Director, will be assuming a new role within Azelis, details of which will be announced soon.