Change at the top of Royal Smit & Zoon. The CEO of the Dutch tanning chemicals group, Hans van Haarst has resigned with immediate effect. Group owner Marc Smit will take over the role. The company’s official note does not specify whether Smit will fill the role on an interim basis pending the appointment of a new CEO. In 2017, the company, founded in 1821 and now run by the seventh generation of the Smit family, acquired the Tuscan company Codyeco.
Change at the top
Sudden change in the CEO’s chair at Royal Smit & Zoon. Hans van Haarst resigned with immediate effect. He had held the role of CEO for ten years. He will remain with the company until 31 July 2023 to allow for a smooth transition. His place will be taken by Marc Smit, we said, the owner of the tanning chemical group. In a note, the company summarised the points that have characterised van Haarst’s ten-year tenure: the industry-leading approach to ESG, the acquisition of Codyeco, the expansion of their presence and the creation of Nera Tanning.
The reason for the unexpected divorce
“We are grateful for what Hans has achieved for our company,” are the words of Marc Smit. “The current market conditions and the assessment of what the company needs to move forward made us decide to go our separate ways”. The Dutch company’s goal remains to create a sustainable leather supply chain by 2025. At the beginning of January 2023, Hans van Haarst told Leatherbiz: “Although there are many excellent initiatives along our supply chain, change in the leather value chain is too slow and too small”.
Pictured centre (from Facebook) Hans van Haarst
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