From the Sector

The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries, announced two strategic leadership moves to accelerate innovation and growth.

Robert Johnston has been promoted to chief operating officer from his previous role as executive vice president, operations, and Doug Kelliher has been appointed executive vice president, product. Kelliher will join the company’s global leadership team, while Johnston continues in his leadership capacity. Both executives report directly to CEO Gary Smith.
 
Robert Johnston, Chief Operating Officer
Johnston, a 35-year veteran of The LYCRA Company and its predecessor organizations, will expand his leadership to include product development, in addition to his current oversight of global manufacturing operations and IT. In his new role, Johnston will manage R&D talent, lab resources, and pilot production to drive innovation across the product portfolio, supporting strategic growth priorities identified by Kelliher’s team.

Doug Kelliher, EVP, Product
Kelliher will lead the product management team in developing and executing strategy across fibers, fabrics, and garments. His team works to deliver differentiated solutions that add value and meet the needs of today’s consumer. With more than 30 years of product leadership experience at Timberland, Velcro Companies, Polartec and Milliken & Company, Kelliher brings deep expertise to his role.

"As the apparel industry continues to evolve, our focus remains on delivering high-performance solutions that meet consumer needs and help brands and retailers differentiate and thrive," said Gary Smith, CEO of The LYCRA Company. "Doug and Robert bring exceptional leadership, vision, and industry expertise to their roles, strengthening our ability to co-create with customers, accelerate innovation, and bring transformative technologies to market faster and more efficiently.”
 
About The LYCRA Company
The LYCRA Company innovates and produces fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries and owns the consumer brands:  LYCRA®, LYCRA HyFit®, LYCRA® T400®, COOLMAX®, THERMOLITE®, ELASPAN®, SUPPLEX® and TACTEL®. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., The LYCRA Company is recognized worldwide for its sustainable products, technical expertise, and marketing support. The LYCRA Company focuses on adding value to its customers’ products by developing unique innovations designed to meet the consumer’s need for comfort and lasting performance. 

On various biological surfaces, oil is adsorbed from water surfaces and transported along the leaf. In her dissertation, ITA Postdoc Dr Leonie Beek transferred this effect to a technical textile using her Bionic Oil Absorber (BOA), which can remove up to 4 litres of diesel per hour from water at technological readiness level 4. For this development, Dr Beek was awarded the Paul Schlack Prize 2025 for her dissertation ‘Bionic textiles for oil-water separation modelled on superhydrophobic biological surfaces’ on 10 September 2025. The award ceremony took place during the opening event of the Dornbirn GFC Global Fiber Congress in Austria.

Oil-water separation without additional energy or toxic substances 
Dr Leonie Beek's dissertation focused on the sustainable separation of oil and water. On various biological surfaces, oil is adsorbed from water surfaces and transported along the leaf. This effect differs from technical solutions in that oil-water separation is achieved without external energy and without toxic substances.

Possible use in harbour basins or in the event of flooding/pollution of inland waters 
Dr Beek integrated the bionic textile into a floating device (Bionic Oil Adsorber – BOA). The BOA demonstrator, which has a technology readiness level of 4, can remove up to 4 litres of diesel per hour. It is intended for use in port areas. Another promising application is in the event of flooding and pollution of inland waters and urban sewage treatment plants.

Ecologically and economically sustainable technology 
The technology is ecologically sustainable, as both the textile and the separated oil can be reused. It is also economically sustainable, as the textile is up to 13 times cheaper than sorption materials with a service life of 21 days.

Overall, Dr Leonie Beek succeeded in her dissertation in transferring the biological principle to a bionic textile and presenting a product for use in the completely new application of oil-water separation. This is the first time that superhydrophobic surfaces have been used outside of friction reduction.

Since 1971, the Paul Schlack Prize has been awarded at the Dornbirn GFC Global Fiber Congress (formerly Dornbirn Man-made Fibers Congress) in Dornbirn (Austria) to promote chemical fibre research at universities and research institutes. Previous ITA winners of the Paul Schlack Prize include Dr Stefan Peterek, Dr Andreas De Palmenaer, Prof. Dr Gunnar Seide, Dr Wilhelm Steinmann, Dr Stephan Walter, Dr Gisa Wortberg, Dr Benjamin Weise, and Dr Markus Beckers.

On the occasion of New York Climate Week, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) has launched the Fashion CEO Agenda 2025, a strategic resource for leaders of fashion brands and retailers, designed to guide immediate action to future-proof businesses while advancing towards a net-positive fashion industry by 2050.

Published at a pivotal mid-decade reflection point - with less than five years remaining to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and scientists warning of only three years left to alter the trajectory of global warming - the report comes as the industry faces turbulence, from economic volatility and deregulation to escalating climate and social crises.

The updated agenda urges executives to take action according to its long-standing five-priority sustainability framework - Respectful and Secure Work Environments, Better Wage Systems, Resource Stewardship, Smart Material Choices, and Circular Systems. For the first time, the 2025 edition introduces Priority Accelerators: Innovation, Capital, Courage, Incentives, and Regulation. These build on the themes discussed at Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition this year, positioned as critical levers that cut across all five priorities, enabling systemic change at speed and scale.

The Fashion CEO Agenda 2025 is structured in two clear parts: Part one presents overarching ambitions for the fashion sector that demand collective action across stakeholders, while part two outlines the immediate, short-term, practical steps brands and retailers can take today to advance those ambitions.

The 2025 edition builds upon the ambitions first presented in the 2023 Fashion CEO Agenda which were developed through years of stakeholder engagement and validated by GFA and the UN Environment Programme’s global Fashion Industry Target Consultation. Two years on, these ambitions remain central to industry-wide progress. For 2025, they’ve been re-evaluated in consultation with leading multi-stakeholder initiatives and experts to ensure continued ambition, impact, and relevance. The scope now expands to further urgent priorities such as fair and ethical treatment of migrant workers and empowering workers through inclusive automation and reskilling, with a firm focus on the need for transformation that benefits both the planet and its communities.

To support implementation, GFA has also released new complementary materials including a practical toolkit guiding companies to credible existing industry tools, guidelines, and programmes, as well as a presentation deck that fashion leaders can adapt internally to educate teams. These resources are designed to help leaders embed the Fashion CEO Agenda into company strategies and communicate it effectively throughout their organisations.

Federica Marchionni, CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, said: “Climate change is the defining certainty in an uncertain global world, impacting all lives and communities. The investments needed to future-proof businesses will keep increasing and the cost of inaction will inevitably become greater than the investments needed to address it. This year’s Fashion CEO Agenda provides leaders with a clear path to embed sustainability at the heart of corporate strategy, supported by enabling conditions that make bold action both possible and necessary.”

The Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG has extended the standing management board mandate of Chief Pulp & Chief Technology Officer Christian Skilich, running until May 2026, by three additional years until May 31, 2029. 
 
Christian Skilich has been a member of the Management Board of Lenzing AG since June 2020. As Chief Pulp 
& Chief Technology Officer, his responsibilities, among others, include Pulp Commercial and Operations, CoProducts & Wood as well as Global HSE, Purchasing, and Innovation. 
 
Patrick Lackenbucher, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG, says: “We are delighted that Christian Skilich will continue to serve as member of Lenzing AG’s Management Board going forward. The pulp business under his leadership is an important and successful profit driver and underpins the company's integrated business model. The innovation portfolio, which falls within his area of responsibility as well, will play a key role in shaping the future of Lenzing AG.” 
 
CFO Nico Reiner will not renew his contract at the end of 2025. Mathias Breuer to become new CFO in 2026 
CFO Nico Reiner has informed the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG that he will not be available to extend his Management Board mandate, which expires on December 31, 2025. The Supervisory Board respects his decision and thanks Nico Reiner for his outstanding achievements on the Management Board of Lenzing AG, which, in addition to significant improvements in earnings, also included the successful completion of major refinancing projects in recent years. 
 
Supervisory Board Chairman Lackenbucher says: “We would like to thank Nico Reiner for his commitment and outstanding achievements as Chief Financial Officer of Lenzing AG. Nico Reiner has made a significant contribution to improving earnings and optimizing the financing structure of Lenzing AG. His prudence and expertise have contributed significantly to the stability and future of the company in a challenging macroeconomic environment.” 
 
Mathias Breuer (42) will become new Chief Financial Officer on January 1, 2026. Breuer has been part of the management team at Lenzing AG since 2023 and has been instrumental for the development and successful implementation of the company-wide performance program. Prior to that, he served as CFO of the packaging group Adapa and as CFO of the Sempermed division of Semperit AG Holding. 
 
Lackenbucher: “With Mathias Breuer, an experienced Lenzing manager and financial expert will join the company's Management Board as CFO in 2026. The fact that we can fill this position internally speaks for the quality of the management team at Lenzing AG. With the appointment of Mathias Breuer, we are ensuring a continued focus on the implementation and further development of the ongoing performance measures, to further strengthen the profitability and competitiveness of Lenzing AG in the global market.” 
 
“I would like to thank Nico Reiner for his commitment during a crucial phase at Lenzing AG. He has further developed our financial organization and thus contributed significantly to the company's success,” adds CEO Rohit Aggarwal. “At the same time, I welcome the decision of the Supervisory Board – with Mathias Breuer, we are gaining an outstanding financial expert who is deeply familiar with our company and industry. He has played a central role in the company’s transformation process so far and is ideally suited to shape the next phase of our financial strategy.”

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc., a leader in spider silk technology, is appointed Kenneth Le as Managing Director of its wholly owned recombinant spider silk production subsidiary, Prodigy Silk Ltd.
 
Le has been an integral leader in The Company’s Southeast Asian operations for many years, overseeing the expansion of its specialized spider silk rearing and production systems. Under his guidance, Kraig Labs and Prodigy Silk have grown from pilot-scale operations to full-scale commercial rearing centers that continue to set records for spider silk production.
 
Le brings extensive management experience, operational oversight, and team development expertise. His leadership has been instrumental in creating the foundation for Prodigy Silk’s current production successes, ensuring that the Company's advanced biotechnology is translated into reliable and sustainable silk output.
 
"Ken has been at the center of our growth story in Southeast Asia. His ability to combine operational expertise with a deep understanding of our recombinant spider silk technology makes him the ideal choice to lead Prodigy Silk," said Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO of Kraig Labs. "With Ken at the helm, we expect Prodigy Silk to accelerate production, expand capacity, and deliver on the tremendous promise of our technology."
 
As Managing Director, Le will continue to strengthen Prodigy Silk's production capabilities, optimize rearing operations, strengthen our integration with production partners, and drive forward the Company's mission of bringing recombinant spider silk to global markets.
 
"I am honored to take on this new role and to continue building on the successes we've achieved," said Le. "We have an extraordinary team, a proven technology, and the momentum to make spider silk a scalable and commercially viable super material. I look forward to leading Prodigy Silk into this next phase of growth."
 
Kraig Labs' believes Le's leadership will continue to accelerate the pace of innovation and production, positioning Prodigy Silk as the cornerstone of its commercial spider silk operations in Southeast Asia.

2025 marks the beginning of a new chapter for Bemberg™ in Italy. Following the return of Koji Hamada to Japan, after leading the European division for four years, Junshu Furusawa — with 19 years working at Bemberg™ Division and 4 years in Italy — has been appointed as the new CEO of Asahi Kasei Fibers Italia. With a strong background in innovation, product development and strategic vision within Bemberg Division of Asahi Kasei, Junshu Furusawa brings renewed energy and a deep understanding of the fiber’s technical and responsible value proposition. His commitment to transparent communication and partner engagement will continue to drive Bemberg™’s growth across the European fashion and textile industry. Under Junshu Furusawa’s leadership, Bemberg™ reaffirms its commitment to responsible innovation, design excellence, and long-term partnerships, maintaining its role as a key ingredient in the next generation of luxury fashion. 

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global sustainable chemical producer, posted a as management continues to execute its three-year IVL 2.0 transformation strategy, maintaining steadfast focus on fortifying the company against a prolonged downturn in global chemical markets. 

In 1H25, Indorama Ventures’ Adjusted EBITDA1 fell 21% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to $606 million. Sales volumes dropped 8% YoY as scheduled maintenance at several plants and a winter freeze in the U.S temporarily disrupted operations. The first six months of the year reflected a continuation of the macro-economic pressures that have beset the industry for more than two years, including new Chinese supply and the impact of geopolitical conflicts in Europe and the Middle East on global supply chains, input costs, and consumer demand. 

Throughout this period of profound industry change, Indorama Ventures’ management has continued to drive forward ‘self-help’ actions under IVL 2.0 to optimize operations, reduce fixed costs, and generate cash. Operating cash flow in the first half was strong at $618 million, with 111% Reported EBITDA conversion, while overall fixed costs were reduced by $51 million, net of inflation. These reflect a methodical approach to financial management and commercial excellence as well as the inherent resilience of Indorama Ventures’ unique leadership model across diverse markets. 

In the most recent quarter, operations continued to normalize after the winter freeze and planned turnarounds, which was reflected in a 2% rise QoQ in revenue in 2Q25, although the 11% drop on a year-on-year basis reflected the broader industry challenges. In 2Q25, Adjusted EBITDA climbed 20% QoQ to $330 million, led by an improvement in the company’s largest Combined PET (CPET) business, while down 11% YoY. 

Business Segments 
In 1H25, the Integrated PET portfolio benefited from the asset optimization actions taken over the past year under IVL 2.0, driving a 12% increase in Adjusted EBITDA despite persistent overcapacity in the industry. Overall, CPET segment recorded a 31% YoY decline in Adjusted EBITDA, on a 10% drop in sales volumes, amid multiple planned turnarounds, weaker integrated MEG market conditions in the U.S, and lower NDC production due to the timing of campaign. MTBE profitability normalized in 1H25 with gasoline markets more balanced than in 2024.  

Fibers segment posted a 21% YoY gain in Adjusted EBITDA, and a 3% rise in sales volumes, in 1H25, reflecting an improved business environment in Lifestyle and management’s ongoing actions to streamline operations across the segment. Indovida packaging segment was steady across the half, supported by demand in Egypt and the Philippines. Indovinya segment recorded a 6% decrease in Adjusted EBITDA, on a 3% drop in volumes, on weaker performance in its Essentials business driven by higher palm input costs. The Surfactants business was resilient at 17% margin, flat YoY. 

Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures, said, “Since we launched IVL 2.0 more than a year ago, we have consistently focused on disciplined self-help actions that are building resilience and helping us to emerge stronger and agile to pursue our growth objectives post weathering this historic downturn. One of the final pegs to hammer down is our Integrated EO/EG business in the U.S Gulf Coast. The Board would like to undertake a strategic review of this business to assess its value to our CPET segment. On the growth front, we continue to fund our Surfactants portfolio, our Packaging business, and our leadership of Recycled Polymers from internal cashflows, as well as remain focused on our deleveraging exercise for longer term financial security.” 

Mid-Year Update on IVL 2.0 
Since launching IVL 2.0 in March 2024, Indorama Ventures’ experienced management has continued to focus on bolstering resilience and repositioning the company for long-term sustainable growth. Now, more than 1 year into  the 3-year strategy (2024-2026), leaders are building a leaner, more agile, and financially disciplined enterprise through a program of footprint optimization, operational excellence, innovation, and digital acceleration. 

In the last 12 months, the company rationalized sites in Portugal, Netherlands, Australia and Canada, realizing $116 million in fixed-cost savings. It expects annualized savings of $130–150 million by 2025 and $170–190 million by 2027. Furthermore, the company expects cash proceeds of $190–200 million from the proposed sale of rationalized property from 2H25 through to 2026. 

Indorama Ventures has reorganized its four business segments with empowered, accountable leadership structures and clear mandates to deliver industry-leading performance across the cycle. A similar reorganization of Corporate functions is currently underway. The segments are already benefiting from a comprehensive digital transformation program following the successful rollout of SAP S/4HANA, which is providing the foundation for additional tools including Salesforce and Workday, and AI-driven solutions for manufacturing and maintenance. 

The company continues to maintain a strong liquidity position, with $1.8 billion as of June 2025, and a focus on financial discipline and driving sustainable free cash flow to further strengthen the balance sheet towards a longterm target of Debt/EBITDA at 3x. In the first half, Indorama Ventures raised $1.5 billion through long-term refinancing at improved spreads, which helped reduce costs and ensure liquidity through to 2027. 

As part of its renewed growth strategy to invest in high-value segments and select growth markets, in the first half the company completed the acquisition of a 24.9% equity stake in EPL. An expanded pipeline of innovative highvalue-added (HVA) products includes new offerings such as PEN polymers and PET-G, which generate better margins than traditional PET; and two leading brands in the energy extraction sector, Kemelix and Flowsolve. The Mocksville hygiene fibers facility in the U.S commenced operations during the half, benefiting from the U.S tariffs, while a strategic partnership with PolySource to distribute specialty polymers for advanced applications is broadening the company’s presence in performance materials. 

In 2Q25, Indorama Ventures—one of the world’s leading PET recyclers—marked a significant milestone in recycling 150 billion bottles since operations began in 2011. The company is accelerating its ambition to recycle 50 billion bottles a year, having recycled the last 50 billion bottles in 2.5 years.

The thread of storytelling. From journalist to textile artist: Giulio Caponi writes rugs like emotional reportage. Unique pieces tell hand-sewn memories.

Who said writing has to be done with a pen? Giulio Caponi uses a needle. His words do not flow in ink but emerge from felt and carpet, cut, chosen, stitched. By hand. 

Carpets become our memory, encompassing experiences, emotions, and memories.
Giulio Caponi is currently experiencing an artistic season of extraordinary intensity and fruitfulness. Each of his works, unique and unrepeatable, emerges from the memories his soul explores. Whether expressed through postcards, animal figurines, exotic landscapes, or abstract thoughts, each carpet is born from a creative impulse. A gesture that takes shape in a watercolor sketch, then painstakingly translated onto the textile medium through embroidery—cross-stitch or stem stitch. Familiar and scholastic languages, fragments of memory are broken down into moments, stitched together stitch by stitch to form veritable textile monuments.

Poet and artist Giulio Caponi states: “I like to remember the authenticity of a form of expression that is becoming extinct with the arrival of the digital world and artificial intelligence. We have created an image of our ancestors from the objects they left us, and so will the archaeologists of the future with ours. This is what my works are: messages from the past!” 

Postcards, records, sounds, the must-have temporary tattoos of our childhood... everything is memory, remembrance.
This is how POSTCARDS were born, to tell an imaginary story: “With the postcard, when I write, I begin to invent short messages that, after long days of travel, will reach a recipient I would have liked to know. Invented addresses between stamps and postmarks issued by my publishing house. I imagine correspondences that were sometimes impossible when the postcard had not yet been invented, or between characters from different eras, some deceased, some alive, like ‘To Juliet’: Romeo writes to his beloved after meeting Shakespeare.” Giulio Caponi

With a past as a traveller and newspaper correspondent, Giulio Caponi has let himself be carried away by the call of poetry and material, weaving memory and textures to weave pages full of meaning. Each of his rugs is a story to be touched, in which emotions and memories are amplified “For me embroidering is like observing a vowel under a microscope. It is like magnifying the sound fraction of a word.”

His story begins almost by accident, in Spain. A correspondent in Barcelona to document the '92 Olympic Games, Giulio Caponi met Dominique Torrent, a fashion designer, who would become his wife and partner in artistic adventures. “An architect asked us for a solution to cover an ugly floor. I was writing poetry, she was a designer: from there the first embroidered carpet was born. A gesture born of chance, which changed everything.” Since then, the artist has continued to weave words and images, turning everyday objects into silent witnesses.

His works, carpets and tapestries, “are messages in a bottle, textile graffiti that perhaps one day someone will rediscover, as archaeologists do today with objects from the past.” 

His studio, in Brescia, is a quiet place filled with color: felt, carpeting, balls of Sardinian wool dyed with flowers, roots and bark, sketches, watercolors. Each work stems from a feeling, often from nostalgia. “I use watercolor to fix the idea. It is my way of thinking.” Yet, Giulio Caponi has no academic art training, only a long solitary practice. “I was struck by the watercolors of designers Garouste and Bonetti in the 1990s, I wanted to try it myself. It became my natural language.”

The creative process does not stop at the drawing: each piece is executed by him, stitch by stitch. He especially loves cross stitch and grass stitch “Doubt and correction are also part of the act. It is important that I do the stitching. The work changes as I do it. It evolves. Like me.” Giulio Caponi’s identity eludes categories: artist? poet? artisan? “I wouldn’t know in which box to put my work. There is certainly a manual component, but also a strong poetic drive. It is an expression that holds head, hands and heart together.” 
His rugs are multilayered stories. Objects that evoke journeys – real, mental or emotional – and that tell, in their own way, about the time that passes. And what remains.

New Directors Bring Industry, Innovation and Leadership Experience to Advance Syensqo’s Evolution to a Specialty Chemicals Company.
 
SYENSQO SA announced the appointment of Dr. Cynthia Arnold and Augusto Di Donfrancesco as new members of its Board of Directors, effective July 17, 2025. 
They replace Matti Lievonen and Nadine Leslie who are stepping down from the Board to pursue other opportunities.
 
Dr. Cynthia Arnold brings more than 30 years of global leadership experience in technology and innovation within the materials and chemicals sectors. She previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Valspar Corporation and held senior roles at Sun Chemical, Eastman Chemical and General Electric. With extensive public company board experience, Dr. Arnold currently serves as an independent director on the boards of Cabot Corporation, Milliken & Company and Fluence Energy. She holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the University of California,Berkeley.
 
Augusto Di Donfrancesco held key leadership roles in research & innovation, operations and transformation during a more than 35-year career at Solvay. As President of Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit, he led a period of significant organic growth, doubling net sales through customer-centric innovation. He was also a member of the Solvay Executive Leadership Team where he led group-wide strategic programs. Mr. Di Donfrancesco’s deep sector knowledge and track record in operational excellence and capital allocation will further reinforce Syensqo’s ongoing growth and transformation objectives. Mr. Di Donfrancesco holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Pisa University. 
 
Rosemary Thorne, Chair of the Board of Directors, said, “On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our gratitude to Matti and Nadine for their contributions to the Board during Syensqo’s formative period as an independent public company. As part of our Board succession planning, we are focused on maintaining the right mix of skills and expertise and are thrilled to welcome Cynthia and Augusto, who are proven leaders of the highest caliber and are poised to contribute their significant leadership, technology, innovation and operational experience to the Board. We look forward to benefiting from their respective knowledge and insights as we continue to focus on delivering shareholder value.”
 
“We are delighted to welcome Cynthia and Augusto to our Board,” said Dr. Ilham Kadri, Chief Executive Officer of Syensqo. “Their perspectives will be invaluable as we continue to prioritize innovation and operational excellence to capitalize on the meaningful long-term growth and value creation opportunities ahead. I look forward to working with them.” 
 
Dr. Arnold said, “Syensqo’s commitment to scientific excellence and sustainability resonates deeply with me. I am excited to contribute to the Board’s work to advance innovation and operational performance, and to help shape the Company’s continued success in a rapidly evolving global landscape.” 

 
“I am honored to join Syensqo’s Board during this important period in the Company’s evolution to a Specialty Chemicals Company” said Mr. Di Donfrancesco. “Having spent my career driving transformation, innovation and growth within the specialty chemicals sector, I look forward to working with my fellow directors and the management team to help accelerate growth and unleash Syensqo’s potential.”

Suominen Corporation’s Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Charles Héaulmé, current Chair of the Board, as the company’s new President and CEO. Mr. Héaulmé will start at the latest August 11, 2025.  

Mr. Héaulmé brings with him decades of executive leadership experience across various industries. His strategic insight and proven track record in driving performance and transformation have earned the full confidence of the Board to lead Suominen into its next phase of financial improvement and sustainable growth.   

Mr. Héaulmé will continue to serve as Chair of the Board until the next Annual General Meeting of Suominen 2026. He will step down from his position as a Chair and member of the Personnel and Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors as of today.  

The Board of Directors of Suominen Corporation and Mr. Tommi Björnman, have mutually agreed that Mr. Björnman will step down from his position as the President and CEO. Mr. Janne Silonsaari, currently Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed as interim President & CEO, effective June 30, 2025. 
“We thank Mr. Björnman for his dedication and leadership during his tenure,” says Andreas Ahlström, Deputy Chair of the Board of Suominen. “Under his guidance, Suominen has continued to focus on its vision to be the frontrunner for nonwovens innovation and sustainability.”  

“The past two years at Suominen have been both challenging and rewarding. I am proud to see that we have elevated commercial excellence, sustainability, and innovation to the next level,” says Tommi Björnman.  

“I am honored to step into the CEO role at a pivotal time for Suominen. I look forward to working closely with our talented team to build on the company’s strong foundations, drive sustainable growth, and deliver long-term value to our shareholders, customers, and communities,” says Charles Héaulmé.