Dr. Ilham Kadri has been the CEO of Syensqo since December 2023, when shareholders approved the separation of the Solvay Group into two distinct companies: Solvay and Syensqo. Prior to the separation, Mrs Kadri successfully led the turnaround of Solvay since 2019, delivering double-digit EBITDA growth and 18 consecutive quarters of positive free cash flow, deleveraging the balance sheet and promoting superior people engagement.
During her tenure she established the company’s Purpose; drove the Group’s G.R.O.W. strategy and fulfilled its economic objectives two years ahead of schedule. She led the holistic Solvay One Planet sustainability program, which outperformed the CO2 reduction objectives set by the Paris Agreement.
Ms. Kadri has extensive leadership experience across a variety of industries on four continents and with leading industrial multinationals, including Shell, UCB, Huntsman, Dow and Sealed Air. She is an independent Board member at A.O. Smith and L’Oréal. Ms. Kadri is active in non-profit organizations, as Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), member of the steering committee of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) as well as a permanent member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council (WEF).
She is a Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Namur (BE) and EWHA University (KR). Ilham Kadri holds a degree in chemical engineering and a PhD in physics and chemistry from Strasbourg University.
