AkzoNobel has announced the appointment of Maëlys Castella, 47, as the company’s new CFO. She will officially take up the position on Sept. 15. 
Castella succeeds Keith Nichols, who announced his intention to leave AkzoNobel on Jan. 15. Castella has worked at Air Liquide for the past 14 years, most recently as group deputy CFO. Her previous posts there include Europe CFO and corporate finance and treasury director.
Commenting on the appointment, AkzoNobel CEO Ton Büchner said, "We’re delighted to have appointed Maëlys as the company’s CFO. She brings a wealth of experience in finance and will add fresh impetus to our ongoing commitment to improve operational excellence and drive value creation."
Antony Burgmans, chairman of AkzoNobel’s Supervisory Board, added, "This is a very important appointment. Maëlys is a high-caliber professional who will bring key skills and capabilities to the company. After a thorough and international search and selection program that saw many talented candidates, we’re very happy that Maëlys will be joining us as CFO."
A French national, Castella joined Air Liquide as group financing manager in 2000. She previously worked for ELF Oil & Gas Group, where her positions included financing and capital markets manager.
"I am looking forward to working for AkzoNobel with great enthusiasm," Castella said. "It is a company I much admire, where I believe I can make a major contribution to the management team in their focus on operational excellence."
She will be nominated for appointment to AkzoNobel’s Board of Management and will be based at the company’s head office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Büchner will take over CFO responsibilities in the brief transition period between Nichols’ departure and Castella’s commencement date.
