Diversity

At DSM, we strongly value diversity, and we endeavor to reflect this in our Board memberships. The Supervisory Board has formulated diversity policies for the Supervisory Board, the Managing Board and the Executive Committee. These policies seek a balanced composition of the respective body, taking into account gender, age, knowledge, experience, and nationality/cultural background. In addition, for the composition of the Supervisory Board, the tenure structure is taken into consideration.

In terms of gender diversity, we aim for at least 30% of the positions in our Supervisory Board, Managing Board and Executive Committee to be held by women and at least 30% by men – percentages which reflect Dutch legislation. To ensure a balanced composition in terms of nationality/cultural background, our aim is to have not more than 50% of the members of our Supervisory Board or Executive Committee drawn from a single nationality. While a diverse composition in terms of nationality/cultural background is also taken into account in the composition of the Managing Board, no quantitative target is set here, given the relatively small number of Managing Board members.

Our diversity policies are implemented by applying them to nominations for (re)appointments of Supervisory Board and Managing Board members as well as to appointments of Executive Committee members.

At the 2022 Annual General Meeting Eileen Kennedy, an American national, was reappointed as member of the Supervisory Board. This was on the basis of her broad and in-depth nutrition knowledge and her qualities as Supervisory Board member as demonstrated during her past period as member of DSM’s Supervisory Board. With the reappointment of Eileen Kennedy, the Supervisory Board maintains a strong profile in the areas of DSM’s Health, Nutrition & Bioscience business, R&D and sustainability.

Also, at the 2022 Annual General Meeting Geraldine Matchett, a British, French and Swiss national, was reappointed as member of the Managing Board on the basis of her qualities as all-round and international CFO, as well as from her extensive experience with external stakeholders during her second tenure as a Managing Board member.

Both our Supervisory Board and our Managing Board were well balanced in 2022 in terms of gender, each comprising 50% women, which is in line with Dutch legislation and with the company’s own diversity policy. The gender diversity levels within our Supervisory Board and our Executive Committee exceed our target for at least 30% of these positions to be held by women and at least 30% by men. The percentage of women in DSM’s Executive Committee was 40% until 1 December 2022 and 33.3% thereafter. Furthermore, the composition of both our Supervisory Board and our Executive Committee is in line with our target of having not more than 50% of the members drawn from a single nationality.