Managing Board and Executive Committee
The Executive Committee was installed to enable faster strategic alignment and operational execution by increasing our focus on the development of our business, innovation and people.
The Executive Committee comprises the Managing Board members as well as four senior executives with responsibility respectively for DSM Food Specialties and Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions (Philip Eykerman), the DSM Materials cluster (Helen Mets), the DSM Innovation Center (Patricia Malarkey), and People & Organization (Cristina Monteiro). Due to a temporary leave of absence on the part of Cristina Monteiro as of 15 October 2021, Geraldine Matchett took over responsibility for People & Organization on an ad interim basis. Upon the retirement of Chris Goppelsroeder as President DSM Nutritional Products, Dimitri de Vreeze stepped into this role in his capacity as Chief Operating Officer as of 1 April 2021. The senior executives serving on the Executive Committee are appointed by the Co-CEOs after consultation with the Supervisory Board. The Executive Committee focuses on topics such as our company’s overall strategy and direction, review of business results, functional and regional strategies, budget-setting, and people and organization. The statutory responsibilities of the Managing Board remain unchanged.
The Managing Board is ultimately responsible for our company’s strategy, portfolio management, the deployment of human capital and financial capital resources, the risk management system, financial performance, and performance in the area of sustainability. The Managing Board is thus also accountable to the Supervisory Board for our strategy and management. Notwithstanding that accountability, the full Executive Committee attends the Supervisory Board meetings.
The Managing Board consists of two or more members, to be determined by the Supervisory Board. The Managing Board currently consists of Co-CEOs Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze; more details can be found in Supervisory Board and Managing Board Royal DSM. Since the introduction of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code in 2004, members of the Managing Board have been appointed for a period of four years.
The members of the Managing Board are collectively responsible for the management of DSM. In addition to this collective responsibility, Managing Board members have individual responsibility for certain tasks, businesses, functional areas and regions. The distribution of these tasks is published on the company website.
The remuneration of Managing Board members is determined by the Supervisory Board based on the remuneration policy approved by the General Meeting of Shareholders. The remuneration policy for the Managing Board can be found on the company website.
The functioning of and decision-making within the Managing Board and the Executive Committee are governed by the Regulations of the Managing Board, which are in accordance with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code and can be found on the company website.
In 2021, the Managing Board and Executive Committee held 36 formal meetings. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions most of these were held virtually. No Managing Board member had to be excused from meetings during the year. One Executive Committee member was excused once for personal reasons. Another Executive Committee member was excused twice for personal reasons and once on account of another commitment. A third Executive Committee member was also excused once due to another commitment. In all cases the Executive Committee members gave advance input in writing or via other members. The Executive Committee and Managing Board take the time for an evaluation at the end of every meeting. This evaluation can be about topics that have been discussed during that meeting, but may also reflect on meeting dynamics and individual or collective performance. Where possible, the Executive Committee also takes the opportunity to organize informal moments such as a collective dinner at the end of a full-day meeting. Once a year, the Executive Committee and Managing Board take the time to get together and discuss their performance as a team.
