Jan Secher calls it a day and leaves Clariant to an uncertain future

Clariant CEO, Jan Secher, is leaving the company, "To pursue new activities outside of Clariant." Further details have not been disclosed, and little has been said of Secher's fresh wind of change and valiant attempts to turn around the ailing Swiss/German company.

With fierce competition from Asia, and the inability to raise prices in the face of unprecedented hikes in raw material and energy costs, it appears that the changes Secher (a Swedish outsider) would have had to implement to turn the company around would have been unpalatable to the Swiss/German organisation. Some of the key requirements for Clariant to survive in the future have been pointed out in earlier blogs (eg FT view).

This leaves Clariant in the position of having to appoint a new CEO and to implement a survival strategy for the future. The moves being considered by Ciba and others will be covered in future blogs.