Cognis appoints new CFO to succeed Edelmann

Edelmann will leave his position on October 1 to take up another position within the company as a member of the supervisory board.

Panichi will take up the role of CFO upon Edelman’s departure. He joined the company in 1997, and has had a number of key positions in the company, including head of corporate development.

He has also played a key development role in implementing the company’s strategy to focus on key growth areas of its business.

CFO for Oleochemicals division​

Panichi’s role in the company from 2005 to 2008 saw him based in Malaysia, where he has filled the role as CFO for its Oleochemicals joint venture, where he was responsible for all administrative activities.

His current role within the company is vice president of corporate controlling and development, for which he has been directly reporting to Edelmann.

Last week the company revealed that cost savings initiatives had helped to keep the business ticking over during the current financial downturn.

Sales down but lower costs save the day​

Overall sales volumes were down by 15.8 per cent, while net sales fell by 15.1 per cent to €1.30bn, for the first six months of the year. The company said that lower sales prices were compensated for by lower raw material prices and cost savings.

The company’s care chemical division reported sales down by 15.3 per cent to €729m, reporting lower sales volumes across all segments, while underlining that the personal care market proved to be more resilient, particularly with respect to stronger Asia Pacific and South American markets.

The company did also indicate that the trend within the care chemicals division was up during the course of the first half, with sales volumes increasing by 3 per cent in the second quarter, when compared to the performance in the first quarter.