Focusing on the Japanese and Indonesian markets, Hirotaka (Hank) Kawano and Antonius Utomo Prihantono will be tasked with developing activities in the personal care sector to support growth plans.
Heading up Japan
Hirotaka (Hank) Kawano will replace Mitsuru Katada as the company’s Managing Director of Japan, following his retirement on 31st March 2017.
Kawano holds With a bachelor's degree in economics and over three decades of experience in logistics procurement and finance, Kawano began his career with a global chemicals company in Japan and strive to develop the country’s growth strategy.
“We are delighted to welcome Kawano-san to the team and look forward to him growing our business in Japan, with the strong technical expertise and market knowledge he brings to the role,” comments Laurent Nataf, CEO and President, Asia Pacific.
Building awareness in Indonesia
Azelis has also appointed Antonius Utomo Prihantono as Managing Director of the Indonesian arm of the business.
Having recently worked as Regional Operation Head of the Crop Protection Division for the APAC market for a leading chemical company, Prihantomo will bring over 20 years in the crop protection business in Indonesia, Singapore and Germany.
With a master's degree in material science and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, Prihantono will join Azelis to help build the company’s presence in Indonesia and build a team by the end of 2017.
Stepping into the role, Prihantono has been given the go-ahead with an official mandate to create a new office based in Jakarta, Indonesia, to accompany existing Azelis offices in offices in Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
Personal care development
In Indonesia, the company will initially concentrate its efforts on distributing speciality raw materials for the personal care, agrochemicals and homecare markets, before moving onto food and health ingredients.
With their positions effective immediately, both Hirotaka (Hank) Kawano and Antonius Utomo Prihantono and the wider APAC region will be headed by Laurent Nataf, CEO and President, Asia Pacific.
“Asia represents a significant growth opportunity for Azelis and with the appointment of Prihantono and expansion into Indonesia, we will be able to set up a regional logistic hub supporting the whole region,” Nataf adds.
“Strengthening our team will allow us to further exploit the potential and accelerate our development, better serving our principals.”
Following its entry into the APAC market in 2012, Azelis strives to work towards its growth strategy. It will continue to invest in fully equipped laboratories in China, Vietnam and Thailand to help grow its personal care customer bases.