Elemica Builds Business Development Team for European Operations / Five Executives Bring a Wealth of Experience in E- business, the Chemicals Industry and Suppl

- Cross-reference: Photos are available at:http://recherche.newsaktuell.de/story.htx?nr=239775&action=bigpic&att =7564 http://recherche.newsaktuell.de/story.htx?nr=239775&action=bigpic&att =7565 http://recherche.newsaktuell.de/story.htx?nr=239775&action=bigpic&att =7566 http://recherche.newsaktuell.de/story.htx?nr=239775&action=bigpic&att =7567 http://recherche.newsaktuell.de/story.htx?nr=239775&action=bigpic&att =7568 Frankfurt (ots/PROTEXT) - Elemica, a neutral e-businessnetwork founded by some of the world's leading chemical companiesto serve the global chemical industry, today announced theappointment of five executives to its European businessdevelopment team: Alberto Fasani, Francis Gainet, Cord Matthies,Nicola Sands and Hans-Jürgen Weyh. As directors of accountmanagement for Elemica's European operations, they will lead thecompany's sales efforts and client support needs in theirrespective markets. "This diverse and talented team brings multi-culturalbackgrounds and multi-functional work experiences that willbenefit our European clients," said Bertrand Petit, chiefoperating officer for Elemica Europe. "They will be part of ourglobal team facing our customers and will offer, when needed,global coordination for companies connecting to the Elemicanetwork. "With Elemica's upcoming rollout of the Connected Solution,the team will be available to assist clients with theirfunctionality and connectivity questions and support needs -eventually reaching 24/7 customer support across Europe." The new team will be responsible for fulfilling a multitude ofclient needs, including external requests for sales information,training, employment opportunities, literature requests andgeneral information about the company. The directors ofcommercial solutions will also assist customers with questionsrelated to transactions, connectivity, account maintenance andbilling. Additionally, the directors will develop a customer-facing knowledge base, enabling clients to address issues forthemselves and providing faster resolution for their inquiries.Their areas of responsibility: * Fasani - Italy, Portugal and Spain * Gainet - France * Matthies - Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands * Sands - The United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Norway andSweden * Weyh - Austria, The Czech Republic and Germany Fasani joins Elemica with nearly 20 years of managementexperience in marketing and sales in the chemical and plasticsindustries. Prior to joining Elemica, Fasani served as a salesdirector for CheMatch.com in Europe. In that role, he was incharge of developing a commodity plastics online exchange andauction platform serving the European region. He has also heldsales and marketing positions with Amoco and The Dow ChemicalCompany in Europe. Fasani holds an MBA from Universitŕ L.Bocconi, Scuola di Direzione Asiendale in Milano and a bachelor'sdegree in chemical engineering from Politecnico di Milano.Additionally, he has taken supplemental technical, financial andmanagement courses, including studies at the Management CenterEurope, INSEAD and the Center for Creative Leadership. As the former global support manager for SAP, Gainet comes toElemica with a wealth of experience in supporting customers intheir globalization strategies, supply chain management andEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation. Prior toworking for SAP, he served as the chief financial officer andvice president for Burton Corblin, an engineering firm and gascompressor producer. Also, Gainet lead business development,acquisitions and organizational change initiatives for Sagem, anelectronic and defense company in Paris. Gainet holds an MBAfrom EAP-ESCP, Paris, a degree in operational research from ParisIX Dauphine University, and he is a CPA. Matthies brings with him a wealth of experience in program andproject management, design and operation of computerized supply-chain facilities in the chemical industry, and re-design ofbusiness and technical processes. Most recently, Matthiesserved as a principal consultant for PA Consulting, representingthe chemicals industry in their manufacturing practice. In thisrole, he was active in business development, marketing, e-business and supply chain management. Before joining PAConsulting, Matthies worked for Solvay for 10 years. He receivedan MSc. in mechanical engineering from the University ofClausthal, and an MBA from Boston University in Brussels. Prior to joining Elemica, Sands worked for ICI Acrylics as aninternal supply chain and customer service analyst and consultantwhere she was part of a team responsible for eliminating supplychain costs without compromising customer value. During her 13-year tenure at ICI, she held positions of escalatingresponsibility, including marketing analyst, projectimplementation manager, business development, internationalcustomer service executive and quality assurance coordinator.Sands recently received an MBA from the University of DurhamBusiness School and a national diploma in business studies. Weyh formerly worked for Ciba Speciality Chemicals, Inc.,where he was head of e-business and publishing. In that role, hecreated an Internet concept for the textile dyes division,launched the company's new Web site and played a leading role inthe project team that developed the company-wide e-businessportal. Weyh spoke at the e-business for Chemicals and Plasticsseminar in Europe last year and at the IQPC conference on e-business for the Chemical Industry in January 2001. Weyhreceived a degree in textile engineering specializing in textilechemistry and finishing from Munchberg Technical College. About Elemica Elemica is a premier global neutral e-business network for thecontract buying and selling of chemicals. The company willoffer an integrated, end-to-end system, enabling buyers andsellers to streamline their business processes for contract salesand improve negotiation, contract management, order fulfillmentand payment. Elemica's comprehensive solution creates powerfulefficiencies and offers support that extends from pre-salesthrough negotiation and contracting, and continues through thetransaction, supply chain, and after-sales processes. Phasedrollouts of full integration services are scheduled for 2001. The e-marketplace's 22 investors include: Air Products andChemicals, ATOFINA, BASF, Bayer, BP, Brenntag, Celanese,ChemCentral, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Degussa, The Dow ChemicalCompany, DSM, DuPont, Millennium Chemicals, Mitsubishi ChemicalCorporation, Mitsui Chemicals, Rhodia, Rohm and Haas, Shell,Solvay, Sumitomo Chemical and Vopak.

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