Avantium Announces Changes To Its Management

26 Mar 2025 07:00 CET

AMSTERDAM, 26 March 2025, 07:00 hrs CET – Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, announces significant changes to its Management Team.  Boudewijn van Schaïk has resigned as CFO and Management Board member effective as of 9 May 2025 to pursue his career elsewhere. Bert Cornelese will start as interim CFO as of 1 April 2025. Bram Hoffer has been appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately. Finally, Annelore van Thiel will join Avantium as Director of Human Resources on 1 May 2025.

Bert Cornelese brings over three decades of experience leading and working in finance organizations across various industries, including as CFO for Ten Cate and for Continental Bakeries and interim CFO for Hunkemöller. Bert Cornelese will serve as interim CFO until a permanent CFO is appointed.

Bram Hoffer has been serving as a consultant to Avantium in the role of COO since December 2024 and has now been appointed to that role on a permanent basis. An experienced leader in the chemical industry, Bram was the Chief Technology Officer at chemical recycling company Ioniqa Technologies until December 2024. Prior to this, he spent over 20 years at chemical company BASF in various roles across Germany, USA, Belgium, and the Netherlands, including site management, CAPEX project management, operational excellence, engineering and manufacturing.

Annelore van Thiel has over 20 years of experience in leadership development, talent management, HR strategy, process improvement, and operational management. She has been Director People & Organisation at Ampelmann since 2020 and previously held various roles at Ampelmann and at Randstad Netherlands.

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Avantium, commented: “We are very pleased to have Bram, Annelore and Bert join us during this important time in Avantium’s development. These appointments reflect Avantium's commitment to continually strengthening its leadership team. With their expertise, Bram, Annelore, and Bert will contribute significantly to help the Company execute on its strategic, operational and financing priorities. We appreciate Boudewijn’s contributions to Avantium and wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

Avantium’s Management Team will consist of the following people as of May 2025: Tom van Aken (Chief Executive Officer), Bert Cornelese (Interim Chief Financial Officer), Gert-Jan Gruter (Chief Technology Officer), Carmen Portocarero (General Counsel), Marco Jansen (Chief Commercial Officer), Bram Hoffer (Chief Operating Officer) and Annelore van Thiel (Director of Human Resources). Steven Olivier and Yap Chie Cheung continue to hold the positions of Managing Director of Avantium R&D Solutions and Managing Director of Volta Technology, respectively.

About Avantium

Avantium is a pioneering commercial-stage company focused on renewable & circular polymer materials. Avantium develops and commercialises innovative technologies for the production of materials based on sustainable carbon feedstocks, i.e. carbon from biomass or carbon from the air (CO₂). The most advanced technology is the YXY^® Technology that catalytically converts plant-based sugars into FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), the key building block for the sustainable plastic PEF (polyethylene furanoate). PEF is known under the brand name Releaf^®, an EU registered trademark of Avantium. Avantium has successfully demonstrated the YXY^® Technology at its pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, and is in the process of starting the world's first commercial plant for FDCA in Delfzijl, the Netherlands.  Avantium works in partnership with like-minded companies around the globe to create revolutionary renewable chemistry solutions from invention to commercial scale.

Avantium’s shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels (symbol: AVTX). Avantium is incorporated in the Euronext Amsterdam SmallCap Index (AScX). Its offices and headquarters are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

For more information:

Caroline van Reedt Dortland, Director Communications
+31-20-5860110 / +31-613400179 
mediarelations@avantium.com

Aarne Luten, Head of Investor Relations
+31-625687714
ir@avantium.com