ESSEN, Germany—Brenntag A.G. has appointed Christian Kohlpaintner, 55, as the company's chief executive officer, a role he'll step into on Jan. 1.
Kohlpaintner comes to Brenntag from Swiss chemicals company Clariant International Ltd. where he was member of the executive committee until June.
He will succeed Steven Holland, who led the company as CEO for eight years and is leaving Brenntag at the turn of the year.
"With Christian Kohlpaintner, we have been able to place as our new CEO an internationally experienced business leader with a proven track record," Stefan Zuschke, chairman of Brenntag's supervisory board said in a statement.
Kohlpainter has been tasked with leading Brenntag to sustainable growth and expanding the company's market leadership. In his role, Zuschke added, Kohlpainter will be expected to "(break) new ground while at the same time preserving the core of the successful business model."
Kohlpaintner began his professional career at Hoechst, where he held various positions in Germany and the U.S. He also served as Celanese marketing director and as vice president for innovations, before joining Fabrik Budenheim in 2003, where his last position was that of CEO.
In 2009, Kohlpaintner joined Clariant, where he served as a member of the executive committee and, most recently, was based in China to drive growth in the region.