German specialty chemicals company Lanxess has announced that Frederique van Baarle will succeed Michael Zobel as the head of the High Performance Materials business unit with effect from June 1, 2020. Zobel will will take over as head of the Lanxess' subsidiary Saltigo on June 1, 2020.

Baarle will head business portfolio mainly comprising of high-performance plastics for the automotive and electronics industries. At present she is heading the Global Procurement and Logistics group function.

Hubert Fink, member of Lanxess’ Board of Management said: “In Frederique van Baarle we have been able to recruit an experienced and successful manager to head our high-performance plastics business. As a long-standing marketing and sales manager at High Performance Materials, she knows the business inside out.”

Baarle began her career in the chemical industry at Dutch major Royal DSM in 2000 after studying international marketing, obtaining an MBA and graduating at the French business school INSEAD. At DSM, she held a number of internal management roles. Baarle joined Lanxess in 2011 and assumed various management positions in sales and marketing in the High Performance Elastomers business unit (now ARLANXEO) and the High Performance Materials business unit. Since December 2018, Baarle has been heading the company’s global purchasing department.