Azelis announces new senior appointments in Asia Pacific
Azelis has made two new appointments in Asia Pacific, supporting the high growth potential of this dynamic region.
Hirotaka (Hank) Kawano joins Azelis as Managing Director of Japan. He succeeds Mitsuru Katada who will retire on 31st March 2017 after having successfully led the company’s Tokyo operations since 2014.
Kawano holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and started his career with a global chemicals company in Japan. He has over 30 years experience in logistics procurement and finance and is proficient in both English and German.
Azelis is also pleased to announce the appointment of Antonius Utomo Prihantono as Managing Director Indonesia. Prihantomo holds a Master’s degree in Material Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. He joins Azelis after spending more than 20 years in the crop protection business in Indonesia, Singapore and Germany. Most recently, Prihantono worked as Regional Operation Head Asia Pacific, Crop Protection Division, for a world leading chemical company.
Prihantono has been given the mandate to open a new office in Indonesia, in line with the company’s growth plans, and will be based in Jakarta. His remit will be to establish an Azelis presence in Indonesia and build a team by the end of 2017. Initially Azelis will focus on speciality raw materials for the agrochemicals, homecare and personal care markets, and at a later stage, food and health ingredients.
Both appointments are effective immediately. Kawano and Prihantono will report to CEO & President Asia Pacific, Laurent Nataf.
Nataf comments: “We are delighted to welcome Kawano-san to the team and look forward to him growing our business in Japan, with the strong technical expertise and market knowledge he brings to the role. Asia represents a significant growth opportunity for Azelis and with the appointment of Prihantono and expansion into Indonesia, we will be able to set up a regional logistic hub supporting the whole region. Strengthening our team will allow us to further exploit the potential and accelerate our development, better serving our principals.”
Azelis entered the Asia Pacific market in 2012. This expansion continues the company’s growth strategy in Asia Pacific. Azelis already has offices in Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietham and Thailand. Continued investment in fully equipped laboratories, so far in China, Vietnam and Thailand, allows the company to meet requirements of its customers across a range of applications in the personal care, food, coatings and homecare markets.
