MOVES: Celanese CEO Ryerkerk to leave at end of 2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Celanese CEO Lori Ryerkerk will step down at the end of the year, a move that followed the company’s decision to slash its dividend by 95% and temporarily idle plants, the US-based acetyls and engineered materials producer said on Monday.

Ryerkerk will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Scott Richardson, who will become CEO on 1 January.

In a statement, Ryerkerk said, “Coming out of retirement to lead Celanese since 2019 as CEO has been the true highlight of my career, and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together.”

Kim Rucker, lead independent director of the board, said, “With Lori at the helm, Celanese has navigated challenging macro environments while strengthening its competitive position. We wish her all the best in her next chapter.”

TOUGH TIMES
The announcement of Ryerkerk’s departure comes just over a month after Celanese missed its Q3 earnings guidance by a large margin, reporting $2.44/share versus an earlier guidance of $2.75-3.00. The following day, shares of Celanese were down by as much as 25% in afternoon trading.

During the quarter, Celanese was hit by a rapid and acute decline from automotive and industrial end-markets.

Automobiles are an important end market for the company’s Engineered Materials segment. Celanese had increased its exposure to automobiles with its $11 billion acquisition of DuPont’s Mobility & Materials (M&M) business in 2022.

The acquisition proved challenging, with Celanese outlining steps in early 2023 that it planned to take to raise the earnings of M&M.

In addition to weakness in autos, demand remained weak for paints, coatings and construction, important end markets for the company’s Acetyls segment. New capacity for vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) came online and outpaced demand.