SWEDEN — Jennifer Midura has been appointed as AkzoNobel’s new director of corporate strategy and mergers & acquisitions. She officially took over her new responsibilities on Monday, March 2.

Having joined the company following AkzoNobel’s acquisition of ICI, Midura played a major role in helping the board of management set the strategic agenda that was announced last September. Midura was previously in charge of corporate strategy at ICI for six years and prior to that she worked for McKinsey in London and Cleveland.

She succeeds Derek Welch, who joined AkzoNobel in 1998 and recently reached retirement age. Welch was instrumental in negotiating deals worth more than $33 billion during 2007. Prior to his official retirement, Welch will work part-time and will continue to take the lead in key deals following Midura’s appointment.