New appointments Akzo Nobel

New appointments Akzo Nobel

New appointments Akzo Nobel

Akzo Nobel has announced that Frits Fentener van Vlissingen (70), who served the Supervisory Board for 20 years, will step down from the Board, as he has reached the age limit. Dolf van den Brink (55), professor Financial Institutions at the University of Amsterdam and former member of the Managing Board of ABN AMRO Bank, will be proposed to join the Supervisory Board, effective 1 May 2004, at the General Meeting of Shareholders on 22 April 2004.

Leif Darner (51) will be nominated as a member of the Board of Management. Mr Darner will succeed Dag Strömqvist (62), who will retire from the Board, effective 1 July 2004. Mr Strömqvist has enjoyed a long-standing career in our chemical business and has been a member of the Board since 2000.

Mr Darner, currently General Manager at Marine & Protective Coatings, started his career as a product manager for Unilever in Norway. In 1980, he joined Courtaulds and held several regional and global management positions in Yacht, Powder, Industrial, and Marine and Protective Coatings based in Sweden and the United Kingdom. After the takeover of Courtaulds by Akzo Nobel in 1998 he was appointed in his present function, based in London.

Hans Wijers, Chief Executive Officer of Akzo Nobel, said: “Leif made Marine & Protective into what it is today, a star performer. I'm confident that he's the one to pilot our chemical businesses through today's turbulent times.”

Fritz Fröhlich (61), Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management, will step down from the Board of Management, effective 1 May 2004, having reached the retirement age. Mr Fröhlich served on Akzo Nobel's Board for 11 years, first with responsibility for Fibers, and since 1998 as Chief Financial Officer. As announced previously, Rob Frohn (43), until the end of 2003 General Manager for Surface Chemistry, will be proposed for appointment to the Board of Management to succeed Mr Fröhlich as CFO, effective 1 May 2004.

The remuneration of Messrs Darner and Frohn is in line with the Dutch corporate governance code Tabaksblat, and also in line with the remuneration of the other Board Members. The remuneration of the Akzo Nobel Board of Management will be discussed at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.