Sun Chemical Names Rudi Lenz Chief Executive Officer and President
Parsippany, NJ - January 02, 2008 -- Sun Chemical, the world's leading manufacturer of printing inks and organic pigments, appointed Rudi Lenz as its Chief Executive Officer and President, effective January 1, 2008. Dr. Koji Oe, President of Dainippon Ink and Chemicals of Japan, Sun Chemical's parent company, made the announcement on behalf of the Sun Chemical Board of Directors.
Mr. Lenz assumes leadership of Sun Chemical after serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Sun Chemical Board member since 2002. Mr. Lenz succeeds Dr. David Hill, who announced his retirement in late 2007.
"Mr. Lenz assumes the CEO and President role at an important time for Sun Chemical, and I have every confidence that he will lead Sun to even greater success despite very challenging times in the industry globally," Dr. Oe said.
"My number one focus will be on ensuring that Sun Chemical's global resources are working for our customers," Lenz said. "We became the world leader in inks and color pigments by delivering the highest quality products with consistency and reliability and by providing innovative solutions to the challenges our customers face. That same commitment continues today and will drive our growth in the future."
Before joining Sun Chemical in 2002, Mr. Lenz served as President and CEO of Fairchild Aircraft Incorporated, a division of Fairchild Dornier Corporation of San Antonio, Texas. Under Mr. Lenz's leadership, Fairchild Aircraft increased revenues, improved overall customer satisfaction, and significantly increased income.
Mr. Lenz began his career in accounting and tax with the German Internal Revenue Service in 1976. In 1980, he joined Garrett Corporation as an accounting manager in Frankfurt, Germany. He was promoted to Controller and then promoted through a series of financial and accounting positions, ultimately leading the financial and administrative functions as CFO of Garrett GmbH. Following the acquisitions that formed AlliedSignal Corporation, Mr. Lenz became the CFO for AlliedSignal Germany's aerospace, automotive, specialty chemicals, plastics, and engineered materials businesses. He then was promoted to the position of Vice President, Finance - Aerospace Services, AlliedSignal, in Phoenix, Arizona.
In 1997, Mr. Lenz joined Fairchild Dornier Corporation as Executive Vice President and CFO. There he improved the company's financial management capabilities and was instrumental in the integration of Fairchild and Dornier. He was promoted to President and CEO of Fairchild Aircraft in January 2001 and resigned in February 2002 to join Sun Chemical.
A native of Germany, Mr. Lenz earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance & Taxes from the University of Edenkoben. He earned a master's degree in business & administration from the University of Wiesbaden.
About Sun Chemical
Sun Chemical, the world's largest producer of printing inks and pigments, is a leading provider of materials to packaging, publication, coatings, plastics, cosmetics, and other industrial markets. With annual sales of $4 billion, Sun Chemical has over 11,000 employees supporting customers around the world. The Sun Chemical Group of companies includes such established names as Coates, Hartmann, Kohl & Madden, and US Ink.
Sun Chemical Corporation in the U.S. and Sun Chemical Limited in England are subsidiaries of Sun Chemical Group B.V., the Netherlands. Sun Chemical has headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.A.; Slough, England; and Weesp, the Netherlands. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.sunchemical.com.
Contact(s):
Brad Schrader
Sun Chemical
Phone: + 1 973 404 6280
brad.schrader@sunchemical.com
