Ilham Kadri

Ilham Kadri (Born 1969)[1] is a French-Moroccan senior executive and former scientist. Since March 1, 2019, she has been the CEO, chairwoman of the Executive Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of Solvay, a company dealing with advanced materials and speciality chemicals based in Belgium.

Ilham Kadri
Born1969 (1969)
EducationPhD in macromolecular physical chemistry
Alma materECPM Strasbourg (ex-École des Hauts Polymères de Strasbourg)
OccupationSolvay CEO and President of the Executive Committee

Early life and education

Kadri was born and grew up in Casablanca, Morocco, and raised by her grandmother, who urged her to get an education.[1] She studied engineering at ECPM Strasbourg (formerly École des Hauts Polymères de Strasbourg), majoring in polymer physics and chemistry. Kadri obtained her PhD in macromolecular physical chemistry in 1997.

Career

1997-2002

In 1997, Kadri joined Royal Dutch Shell as a Development and Technical Service Manager in Belgium – where she was part of a team that invented a synthetic bottle stopper made from a foamed thermoplastic elastomer to prevent the spread of fungi and bacteria from cork stoppers to stored liquids.[2]

This led to a position with LyondellBasell in France, working in Sales and Global Key Account Management. During her time in this role, Kadri negotiated large automotive contracts, especially in France, Latin America and Japan.

2002-2005

In 2002, Kadri took on a Product Management and Marketing role at UCB in Belgium. She co-lead the creation of the division innovation processes, and joined Cytec as a result of the chemical business divestiture.

2005-2007

From 2005, Kadri joined Huntsman Corporation as a Marketing Director of the global Epoxy business divested to private equity.

2007-2013

In 2007, Kadri moved into the post of Marketing Director at Rohm and Haas, in its paint, coatings and construction businesses; staying with the company until its buy-out by Dow Chemical Company in 2009. She then became General Manager Middle East and Africa (MEA) for all its Advanced Materials division and the Commercial Director EMEA for Dow Water and Process Solutions, working to expand the company infrastructure and bring environmentally friendly downstream manufacturing into the region.

A major success for Kadri at Dow Chemical was the negotiation and construction launch of the first reverse osmosis (RO) membrane manufacturing for sea water desalination in Saudi Arabia.

2013- January 2019

From 2013, Kadri was a Senior Vice President and Officer for Sealed Air Corporation, taking on the role of President for the company's hygiene and cleaning business, Diversey Care. On arriving at Diversey Care, Kadri was tasked with the turnaround of falling sales and profits, which saw her lead reforms of the service division.[3]

She was also a key figure in Diversey Care focusing on a strategy of technological innovation. This includes the launch of the first global range of commercial cleaning robots across the US and Europe, and a digital food safety management platform that helps organizations to achieve regulatory compliance in the food industry. Originally based in the Netherlands, Kadri relocated to Sealed Air's new corporate headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, when it opened in 2015.[4][1]

In early 2016, Kadri became Sealed Air's Digital Leader, responsible for Internet of Things (IoT) integration across the entire company – focusing on the IS digital architecture, external ecosystems acquisitions, digital monetisation and robotics.

In 2017, Kadri was named President & CEO of Diversey[5][6] as part of its acquisition by Bain Capital.

March 2019-present

Ilham Kadri became CEO of Solvay. Her appointment was announced in October 2018.[7]

Recognition

Ilham  Kadri was featured on  Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business -International list in 2019, coming in at no. 21 as one of ten newcomers.[8]

In 2016, she won four awards at the 14th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.[9] Her 2017 awards included Gold for Woman of the Year (Industry), Silver for Women Helping Women (Business), Silver for Female Executive of the Year (Business Products – More than 2,500 Employees) and Bronze for Maverick of the Year.[10]

Personal life

She is married and has a son.[1]

References
  1. Leggett, Page (2016-06-04). "NC trend: Trash talk". Business North Carolina. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  2. . Emanuelle Coignoul, Ilham Kadri, Kraton Polymers Research B.V. "Patent WO2001002263A1 - Synthetic bottle stopper". Google Books. 2000-07-04.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Nichols, Greg. "The Internet of Clean: Diversey's plan to change commercial cleaning with connected technology". ZDNet. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  4. Peralta, Katherine (1 August 2017). "Charlotte exec named CEO of cleaning products company". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  5. Hunter, Lizzie (2 August 2017). "Dr Ilham Kadri named president and CEO of Diversey". INCLEAN Magazine. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  6. "Dr. Ilham Kadri Named President and CEO of Diversey". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  7. "UPDATE 1-Belgium's Solvay names Ilham Kadri to replace Clamadieu as CEO". Reuters. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  8. "Most Powerful Women International". Fortune. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  9. "Diversey Care President Wins Four Awards in 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business". CleanLink. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  10. "Diversey President Wins Four Stevie Awards". ISSA. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2019.

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