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Former Solvay CEO Christian Jourquin will chair the Solvay Solidarity Fund Management Committee, which is tasked with managing and distributing resources to support Solvay employees and their dependents worldwide, as they might experience hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Brussels, June 18, 2020 – The Solvay Solidarity Fund, administered by the King Baudouin Foundation, has reached the next significant milestone in its creation with the appointment of a formal management committee. The Fund will be managed on a daily basis by a dedicated team with equal representation from the King Baudouin Foundation, Director Dominique Allard; from Solvay, CEO Ilham Kadri; and an independent member, Christian Jourquin, who will also serve as Committee Chair.
Christian Jourquin has a long history with Solvay having had an accomplished career within the Group from 1971 to 2012. From 2006 to 2012, Jourquin led Solvay as Chief Executive Officer and during that time spearheaded the successful sale of the Group’s Pharmaceutical division, as well as the acquisition of Rhodia.
“Christian deeply understands and appreciates the ambition of the Solvay Solidarity Fund,” commented Solvay CEO Ilham Kadri. “I am therefore truly grateful that he has agreed to chair the management committee. With his over 40 years of experience with the Group, he knows as well as anyone the humanistic spirit and strong ethics that have characterized our company since the earliest days of our Founder. He knows first-hand that fairness and caring are deeply rooted in Solvay, even during times of great challenge.”
Presently the Solvay Solidarity Fund has a commitment of more than €15 million of financial backing from shareholders, Group management and colleagues, in addition to more than 500 vacation days donated during the first wave of fundraising.
With the designation of this management committee, all mechanisms are in place for Solvay employees who are most in need to start benefiting from this Fund.
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About SolvaySolvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of €10.2 billion in 2019. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States, where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program. Learn more at www.solvay.com. |
