The largest polyurethane system house across the Middle East and Africa, Pearl Polyurethane Systems, has appointed three industry experts to positions of non-executive director. Consistent with the business direction to enhance governance, diversity of management skill, leadership and industry experience, Oliver Bruns, Michael Friede and Wilhelm Lamberts will be joining Pearl Polyurethane at board level as the newly independent Dubai-headquartered company embarks on an ambitious five-year growth plan.
The new board members collective experience spans various sectors and industries bringing broad and deep expertise to the company’s strategic guidance and oversight as it expands internationally and into new verticals.
Oliver Bruns brings over ten years of polyurethane industry experience in Germany with Bayer AG and Bayer MaterialScience – now known as Covestro – which included a role as managing director of Bayer’s polyurethane system house for Eastern Europe, located in the Czech Republic.
Following this, for nearly three years, Bruns held the position of CEO and chairman at Edelmann, a global provider of high-quality and innovative board and paper packaging solutions with over 3,000 employees.
In addition to his new board role at Pearl, Bruns currently holds a full-time CEO-position at NEVEON, a leading global integrated foam group that offers polyurethane flexible and composite foams for a huge range of applications, from the comfort segment through the transportation sector to a limitless variety of specialty applications. NEVEON maintains a network of 61 locations across 18 countries and employs a workforce of more than 3,400.
Michael Friede started his career at Bayer AG in 2001, where he held various senior executive roles at Bayer MaterialScience and then Covestro, including global head of business unit – coatings, adhesives and specialities. In July 2021, Friede advanced his career by assuming the role of chief commercial officer – performance coatings and member of the executive board at AkzoNobel, an Amsterdam-based multinational company with over 32,000 employees creating paints and performance coating products for both industry and consumers worldwide.
Wilhelm Lamberts, a qualified chemist, started his career in 1986 as development chemist with Bayer AG responsible for the development of PUR rigid foam systems and during the course of his career at both Bayer and Covestro held numerous senior executive positions, including managing director of BaySystems Büfa, a German polyurethane system house, and president of Baulé Group, a globally active elastomer business. An experienced business leader and strategy developer, in 2018, Lamberts took up the role of chairman of the advisory board at Robert Kramer Gmbh & Co KG, a leading German chemical company. Since 2009, Lamberts has also been member of the advisory board to BÜFA Gmbh & Co KG.
Commenting on the appointments, Martin Kruczinna, CEO of Pearl Polyurethane Systems, said, “I am delighted to welcome Oliver, Michael and Wilhelm to the board. They bring extensive industry experience, seniority, and personal drive to the board, together with clear business vision which will continue to create an exciting direction for our company in the future. This development marks a further positive step in our growth story over the past 25 years, resulting in Pearl becoming the prominent supplier for polyurethane systems across the Middle East and North Africa today.”
He added, “The level of enthusiasm, leadership and brilliance brought by new board members is undeniable and will place Pearl in the best position possible to expand aggressively into new industry sectors and reach a wider, more global audience.”
We have brought together some of the best minds in their respective industries to provide critical insights, guidance and expertise as Pearl continues to build momentum and grow its footprint regionally and internationally. Essentially, it is the people that sets system house businesses apart due to the high level of personalised customer service, innovation, and support they provide. At Pearl, we have some of the best experts in the industry and this continues to drive our business forward. We remain focused on talent acquisition and development moving forward. The appointment of Oliver, Michael and Wilhelm is big part of this strategy as we embark on further expansion beyond the Middle East and North Africa to increase our international footprint while adding new products and markets as part of our five-year growth plan. We are thrilled to have three non-executive directors of this calibre join the growing Pearl team as the company continues on its expansion plan,” concluded Kruczinna.
Bruns holds an MBA from CEIBS in Shanghai Friede holds an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid while Lamberts holds a doctorate in chemistry from RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
This appointment follows a recent buy-out of the Dubai-based company. In February 2021, Pearl Overseas Industries Ltd signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 51 per cent shareholding in Pearl Covestro Polyurethane Systems LLC from former joint-venture partner, Covestro AG. The deal closed on July 26 and the newly independent company, rebranded as Pearl Polyurethane Systems LLC, has confirmed a long-term supply and technical service agreement with Covestro in Germany ensuring consistency of supply to existing and new clients.
