Interview: Rainier van Roessel, former Labor Director and now the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board of LANXESS.

"LANXESS has Tremendous Potential"

Mr. van Roessel, you have guided and helped shape LANXESS since the company was founded in 2004, including serving as Labor Director for 13 years. What is it like for you to now work for the company as Chairman of the Supervisory Board?

Rainer van Roessel: “I was already involved in the founding of LANXESS during my time at the Bayer Group. Over the years, we built a company that is fit for the future. I believe in the company and its employees. I feel a strong connection to the company. For me, being named Chairman of the Supervisory Board is a strong vote of confidence from the shareholder and employee representatives on this board. It is also an honor for me to work for LANXESS in this role.
LANXESS has made significant progress in restructuring the group, has strategically repositioned itself for the future, and has already achieved a great deal in areas such as sustainability and occupational safety. I want to do my part to ensure that from a financial and business perspective, LANXESS becomes a strong specialty chemicals company. Working closely in a spirit of partnership between shareholders and employee representatives on the Supervisory Board plays an extremely important role in this regard.
LANXESS’s business success is crucial for its shareholders and necessary for its employees and customers.”

How will your work on the Supervisory Board differ from a position on the Board of Management? What is particularly important to you when working with Board Members?
“The Board of Management is responsible for day-to-day operations and makes the necessary decisions. The Supervisory Board monitors the Board of Management’s work and acts in an advisory capacity. So the roles are very different. But we are all working together to ensure LANXESS’s success. In this context, a trusting, professional working relationship and an open exchange of ideas are particularly important to me.”

You left LANXESS at the end of 2019. Difficult years followed with the coronavirus pandemic and then an economic and energy crisis. How did you keep up with LANXESS’s activities during this time?
“The general conditions for LANXESS have changed dramatically since 2020. In particular, the long-term and in some cases far-reaching changes in trade, security, energy, and social policy required significant adjustments to our business strategies. Unfortunately, in addition to the numerous external factors, we also had to overcome internal challenges. Since my appointment to the Supervisory Board in May 2022, I have been able to actively support many necessary steps such as portfolio measures and cost reductions.”

How would you like to help lead the company out of the crisis in your new role? What potential do you see in the Business Excellence program?
“The Supervisory Board is made up of individuals who have a very broad range of skills overall and each bring a wide range of individual experience to the Board. Through open and constructive dialog, the Supervisory Board can support the Board of Management in implementing the necessary steps. The Excellence program with its Streams is also necessary from the perspective of the Supervisory Board in order to improve competitiveness. I fully stand behind Business Excellence. I see significant potential here that we can leverage ourselves. Placing a strong focus on this program is the right thing for the Board of Management to do.“