dsm-firmenich names Inge Massen-Biemans as Chief Sustainability Officer
Massen-Biemans has worked at dsm-firmenich for 25 years and has held several senior management positions.
SWITZERLAND – dsm-firmenich, a company operating in nutrition, health and beauty, has appointed Inge Massen-Biemans as chief sustainability officer, effective 1 November 2026.
She will report to CEO Dimitri de Vreeze and succeed Katharina Stenholm, who will leave the position at the end of 2026 to pursue other interests.
In her new role, Massen-Biemans will oversee the next phase of the company’s sustainability agenda while continuing to serve as country president for the Netherlands.
Stenholm has led the company’s sustainability programme for the past three years, developing its strategy and establishing the framework for integrating sustainability into dsm-firmenich’s value-creation model.
Dimitri de Vreeze, CEO of dsm-firmenich, commented: “Inge combines deep business acumen and a track record of driving enterprise-wide initiatives, with a genuine passion for people and sustainability.”
“Her ability to connect teams, engage stakeholders, and drive meaningful results makes her uniquely positioned to successfully lead the next chapter of our sustainability journey. I am delighted to welcome her into this role and look forward to working together.”
Massen-Biemans currently serves as dsm-firmenich’s vice-president of nutrition, health and social impact, where she has contributed to the company’s partnership with the World Food Programme and helped develop its approach to health, well-being and human rights across its operations and supply chains.
Earlier in her career, she led corporate and public affairs and played a key role in establishing the dsm-firmenich Progress Foundation.
Under Stenholm’s leadership, dsm-firmenich developed its sustainability program following the merger and built the organizational structure needed to advance it. She also helped embed sustainability across the business and integrate it into decision-making processes.
The appointment comes shortly after dsm-firmenich announced a planned change at the top of its Board of Directors, with Thomas Leysen set to retire as Chair and the Board proposing independent director Richard Ridinger as his successor.
Leysen indicated that with the company now “fully operating as one company,” portfolio adjustments nearing completion (including the expected closing of the Animal Nutrition & Health divestment later in 2026), a refreshed Executive Committee, and a margin-improvement program underway, it is an appropriate moment to hand over the chairmanship.
He will remain in post until shareholders elect his successor, after which he plans to focus on other corporate and non‑profit mandates.
Richard Ridinger, currently an independent director on the dsm-firmenich Board and a member of its Nomination and Governance Committee, is the Board’s unanimous choice to succeed Leysen.
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