Management Team

Miguel Mantas

Chief Executive Officer

"Our mission is simple: To listen to our customers and exceed their expectations, to lead in innovation, quality and reliability, and to create value in all that we do."

A native of Portugal who attended a German school in Lisbon and got his MBA from Cologne University, Miguel has lived and worked all over the world.

This no doubt helps working at allnex with its 4,000 employees from over 40 nations and cultures. He is driven by a genuine interest in learning about people, especially his clients and colleagues at allnex.

Miguel’s talents were discovered at Hoechst AG where he served in various units in Europe, Latin America and Asia, as well as at the corporate center in Frankfurt. Before becoming CEO of allnex in 2016, Miguel was Co-CEO of OXEA for almost 10 years and Vice President of different functions and units at Celanese.

Markus Aschauer

Vice President-Operations

"The combination of Allnex and Nuplex is truly transformational for the coating resins industry, and makes us the clear global leader with unrivalled products and technologies."

Prior to his role in the chemical industry, Markus was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. A trilingual native of Italy, he holds a degree in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Milan, Italy.

Benoit DeBecker

VP Strategy & Commercial Excellence

"Together with our clients, we elevate the possibilities of coating to a higher level every day."

Benoit drives strategic business development and inorganic growth initiatives. He is also responsible for exploring and implementing best practices in allnex global marketing and commercial activities including the digitalization of our business.

Benoit has passion for driving and inspiring change in every part of the organization supported by strict analytics and out-of-the-box thinking methods

He started his career in software engineering, first at IBM then at Intel, in its California operations. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Free University of Brussels, and a PhD in Electrochemistry from Columbia University in New York.

Jan-Mathias Kuhr

Senior VP & General Counsel

"Compliance in allnex is about much more than just following the law."

Running a chemical technology business in almost a hundred worldwide juridictions is no easy task. Jan-Mathias and his legal colleagues make sure that allnex not only meets but - wherever possible - exceeds local legal and compliance requirements.

A native of Germany, Jan-Mathias studied law at the University of Mannheim and Heidelberg (Germany) and holds a PhD in law from the University of Mannheim (Germany). He began his professional career as an Associate at the international law firm Baker & McKenzie. 

Before allnex he was working as Associate General Counsel for McKinsey & Company and Celanese, and as head of corporate law at KION GROUP.

​Jean-Marc Durbuis

Executive Vice President - Performance Resins

"Why choose allnex? We are the #1 in industrial coating resins, offer the widest spectrum of technological solutions and have a global manufacturing presence."

Jean-Marc is responsible for managing our global UV/EB Curable Resins (Radcure), Powder Coating Resins and Crosslinkers businesses. 

He has a relentless drive to provide innovative, reliable and cost-effective solutions to our industrial clients wherever they are and whatever coating challenges they face.

Jean-Marc is a member of the Board of Management of the Daicel-allnex Joint Venture in Japan and of the Entis Joint Venture in South Korea.

He holds an MBA Degree in Commercial Engineering from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and a CEMS Master's in International Management.

Petra Zimmer

Senior VP Human Resources

"We create a culture where there is an exchange of ideas across the whole organization, and where initiative, entrepreneurship and empowerment are an essential part of our DNA."

Petra brings over 25 years of experience in Human Resources and organizational change projects, the majority spent in the chemical industry where she worked at Hoechst and later at Celanese in various leadership positions.

Her speciality areas include supporting restructuring, merger and integration processes - a skill much relied on given allnex' dynamic development in recent years.

Born in Germany, she holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim.

Ruben Manniën

Executive Vice President - Liquid Resins & Additives

"Our coating resin products help to make a difference for our customers and the world by offering unique benefits in an environmentally responsible way." 

Having joined Akzo Nobel as a member of their corporate graduate program in 1997, Ruben joined Nuplex following the acquisition of their coating resins business in 2005. 

Prior to being appointed Nuplex’s Regional President for Asia in 2011, Ruben was General Manager for China for three years, and before that, General Director in Vietnam for three years. 

Before moving into senior management roles in Asia, Ruben held a number of global raw material procurement roles. 

Ruben has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from the Eindhoven University of Technology, in the Netherlands and participated in the Advanced Management Program at Insead. 

Working and living across various countries in Asia for the last 15 years has given Ruben a rich experience in growing and developing a business in an ever changing and challenging environment with a passion to create competititve differentiation by understanding and meeting customer needs.

Duncan Taylor

Chief Financial Officer

"Allnex' independence and financial power has always made us a reliable and trusted partner for our clients, suppliers and employees."

Duncan has over 29 years of experience in the chemical industry having served in multiple global roles before becoming CFO of allnex in 2013.

He is a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants in the UK and has a Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Humberside. 

Duncan is a member of the Board of Management of the Daicel-allnex Joint Venture in Japan and of Entis Joint Venture in South Korea.