DSM names Atul Thakrar President Bio-based Products & Services

Atul Thakrar will take responsibility for DSM’s involvement in the emerging biorenewables industry, including holding board positions on the Reverdia and POETDSM Advanced Biofuels joint venture boards. Atul will be based in Delft, the Netherlands, and will report to Rob van Leen, Chief Innovation Officer, DSM.

At the core of its strategic focus on Life Sciences and Materials Sciences, DSM combines its Bright ScienceTM competencies from life sciences with those in chemicals and materials sciences. DSM believes in the huge opportunities this combination will create in the move towards a bio-based economy, particularly in bioenergy such as cellulosic bio-ethanol, renewable chemicals including building blocks such as bio-based succinic acid. DSM’s Bio-based Products & Services unit focuses on conversion technologies in the field of renewable biomass to fuels and chemicals, with its main presence in Elgin, IL (USA), São Paulo (Brazil), and Delft (the Netherlands). Central to the unit’s activities is the development, demonstration and licensing-out of full technology packages in close cooperation with value chain partners.

Atul Thakrar is a US citizen, who has worked and lived in multiple countries, including China, India and Belgium. Most recently he was President and CEO of Segetis Inc., an early-stage specialty materials start-up based in the US. Atul started his professional career in the oil industry in 1980 and has worked for companies like Rohm and Haas, Cytec Industries and Soane Energy LLC in several business and strategic leadership roles.

“Atul brings important commercial and business experience to DSM from both the incumbent world of energy and materials, as well as the emerging bio-renewables industry. With his track record he is an asset for DSM”, says Rob van Leen, Chief Innovation Officer of DSM. “Atul’s background will be of great support to furthering our business as a leading conversion technology supplier to the biorenewablesbased industry.”

Atul Thakrar is successor to Anton Robek, who successfully led DSM’s platform for products and services in biofuels and bio-based chemicals since 2011. A further announcement regarding Anton Robek’s future role after handing over his responsibilities to Atul will be made in due course.