S&B announces new organizational structure
S&B proceeded with organizational changes, effective from September 1st 2011. “The new structure will enable the achievement of operational synergies, meeting and exceeding customer expectations globally for additional sustainable solutions and exploiting growth dynamics in emerging regions” stated CEO Mr. Kriton Anavlavis.
S&B will be organized internally according to a matrix system, based on four geographic regions and four market segments. The geographic regions are, North Europe, South Europe, Asia/Pacific and Americas with responsibility for operations, sales, supply chain and support functions. The four Global market segments - Metallurgy, Foundry, Construction and Specialties- will complement the new organization, assuming responsibility for marketing, global accounts management, business development and R&D, which aims to enhance S&B’s innovation and expand its product and solutions portfolio. The new structure will be actively supported by a lean organization of corporate functions that will set, drive and monitor the implementation of corporate strategies and policies. The new function of Group Sustainable Development will be established with the purpose to enable our business to operate responsibly for long term success by achieving a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives, taking in consideration the expectations of all stakeholders.
The new matrix environment will operate with multiple communication lines that will capitalize on the diversity of our global community of employees, fostering a collaborative, learning and innovative organization with a clear strategic focus.
The new organizational structure and appointed executives, reporting to the CEO, are:
- Global market segments - Yanni Paniaras as Global Marketing General Manager (GM), currently GM of the Bentonite Division.
- Region North Europe (France, Germany, Hungary and Poland) - Dirk Steinkemper as GM, currently GM of the Continuous Casting Fluxes Division.
- Region South Europe (Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy, Spain and Turkey) - Thanasis Kefalas as GM, currently Bentonite Upstream Operations Manager.
- Region Americas (U.S.A and Brazil) - Rob Steele as GM, currently Manager of the Bentonite Division’s Foundry North America Business Unit.
- Region Asia/Pacific (China, India and South Korea) - Aris Chatziparaskevas as GM, currently GM of the Perlite Division.
- Financial Management Organization - Yiannis Christodoulakis as Group CFO, currently Group Controller.
- Group Sustainable Development - Thomas Androulakis as Manager, currently GM of the Bauxite and Otavi Minerals Divisions.
- Group Human Resources - Eva Valavani as Manager, currently in the same role.
- Group Legal Counsel - Danai Voulgari, currently Corporate Affairs Manager.
- Mergers & Acquisitions (previously under the Financial Management Organization) - Thanos Efthimiou as Manager, currently in the same role.
Commenting on the changes, S&B’s CEO Mr. Kriton Anavlavis stated: “These changes are the result of an extensive internal, participative process initiated on April 4. The commitment, energy and spirit of mutual trust and respect exhibited by all participating colleagues, provides me with the confidence that our new journey will be both successful and rewarding for all stakeholders. The depth and talent of our management team will continue to drive S&B’s success under our new collaborative structure. Sustainability will have an elevated role, as an enabler for our business to operate responsibly and as a vital component of our solutions offering. We will be well positioned to realize the full value of our market focused global operations, capture significant opportunities and achieve sustainable value growth for our shareholders.”