Evonik with a new, leaner Group structure

In recent years, Evonik has gradually trimmed its portfolio for growth and resilience and balanced it geostrategically. Following this extensive restructuring, the Group is now taking the next step. “We have significantly improved the quality of our portfolio in recent years,” says CEO Christian Kullmann. “In our current structure, the criterion of specialty chemicals alone is no longer sufficient for our further development. The term has become completely blurred and no longer sufficiently differentiates us for our customers and on the capital market. In future, we will manage Evonik in a more differentiated way. We will utilize the strengths of our two main pillars under one roof: solution- and innovation-driven businesses on the one hand and technology- and efficiency-driven businesses on the other. Our new management model takes this positioning into account.”

New Evonik segments Custom Solutions and Advanced Technologies

Previously, Evonik managed its operating chemicals business in the Specialty Additives, Nutrition & Care and Smart Materials growth divisions. In the new structure, which will be implemented on April 1, 2025, the Group will organize its business lines in the two new segments Custom Solutions and Advanced Technologies. This enables a clearer strategic focus and allocation of resources as well as more differentiated management of the businesses according to their respective business models. Both segments currently generate annual sales of around EUR 6 billion each. The businesses in the Custom Solutions segment are defined by their innovation-driven business models. They are active in niche markets and, according to Evonik, are very close to their customers, for whom they develop customized solutions. This enables them to set prices based on value. The focus for acquisitions is on this segment with around 7,000 employees, which includes additives for paints and coatings as well as products for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. The efficiency-driven businesses in the Advanced Technologies segment are characterized by a high level of technological expertise and operational excellence. As a result, they occupy leading cost positions in international competition. This segment has around 8,000 employees and includes high-performance plastics and hydrogen peroxide.

Lean management model at Evonik

As the nucleus of the company, the Business Lines are at the center of entrepreneurial activity. The “Evonik Tailor Made” reorganization program, which runs until the end of 2026 and will significantly reduce costs in the long term, also follows this principle. Following the completion of the planning phase, the first structural measures have already been implemented this year. They will speed up decisions and processes and drastically reduce bureaucracy. By the end of the program, Evonik will reduce the number of management levels across the Group from an average of ten to a maximum of six. At the same time, more than 3,000 organizational units will be eliminated. This is reflected in the leaner management model that will be implemented with the new segment structure: With the elimination of the divisional management level, a complete management level in the operating business will be eliminated as of April 1, 2025. The Business Lines will then be bundled in the segments and managed directly by individual members of the Executive Board. The Business Lines in the Custom Solutions segment will be taken over by Lauren Kjeldsen, 51, previously Head of the Smart Materials division. The Business Lines in the Advanced Technologies segment will be taken over by Claudine Mollenkopf, 58, from France, previously Head of the Specialty Additives division. Kjeldsen and Mollenkopf will be appointed to the Executive Board on April 1.