OMV elects new CEO as Seele heads out

Austrian oil and gas company OMV has named a new CEO of the company as its current boss is set to resign from the role.

In its meeting on Tuesday, the supervisory board of OMV Aktiengesellschaft appointed Alfred Stern as the new chairman of the executive board and CEO of OMV. Stern has accepted the appointment and he will assume the position with effect from 1 September 2021 for a three-year period with an extension option for a further two years subject to mutual consent.

Stern is currently an executive board member for Chemicals & Materials. The current Chairman of the executive board and CEO of OMV Rainer Seele will resign from his position in the executive board by mutual agreement on 31 August 2021.

Mark Garrett, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of OMV: “OMV stands on the cusp of a major transformation in the direction of chemicals and a circular economy. A transformation in which a large portfolio will need to be managed across a far-reaching value chain – from the wellhead to the refinery and filling station to high-end chemicals & materials and recycling.

“I am happy that, in this decisive phase for the company, we have managed to bring on board Alfred Stern as CEO. His specialist expertise as well as his international management and CEO experience in the chemical industry make him the ideal candidate to lead this transformation”.

Garrett continued: “My special thanks must go to Rainer Seele for his achievements in reshaping the company. Together with his Executive Board team, he has decisively realigned the OMV portfolio while significantly increasing profitability and thereby laying the best foundations for the transformation currently underway”.

CEO-elect Alfred Stern on his appointment: “The OMV Group with all of its members is a corporation with huge potential, far-ranging knowhow and first-class employees. Therefore, the ideal foundations are in place for the upcoming transformation process.

“The energy transition will lead to changes in the backdrop of the various markets and sectors, but they will be different and come at different speeds. We will actively drive the decarbonisation of our business, and we will be proactive in utilising the respective changes across the entire product portfolio including the circular economy in order to successfully continue our profitable and sustainable growth”.