FIRMENICH APPOINTS SATISH RAO AS CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FIRMENICH INDIA

Geneva, Switzerland, May 12, 2016 – Firmenich appoints Satish Rao as Chairman and Managing Director of Firmenich, India, effective July 4, 2016. Satish will be based in Mumbai and report to Armand de Villoutreys, President of the Perfumery Business and member of the global Executive Committee. He joins Firmenich from his most recent role as Vice President, Emerging Markets at McCormick & Company Inc. USA., a Fortune 1000 global food leader.

“India is a strategic High Growth Market for Firmenich where we are the market leader in Perfumery and gaining great traction with our Flavors business,” said Armand de Villoutreys, President of the Perfumery Business, Firmenich. “Under Satish’s leadership, we have great ambitions to grow our business and footprint in India, by putting our innovation and creativity to work to meet the needs of our customers and partners.”

“I am very excited to be joining Firmenich, a visionary company that stands for world-class research and creativity, with a cutting edge sustainability agenda,” said Satish Rao. “Drawing upon my experience of the flavors industry in India, I will make sure we unlock the market’s full potential, aiming to make a difference for our customers and their consumers through our innovation and operational excellence.”

Satish is a proven business leader in the flavors industry with a solid background in sales, marketing and business development across India, the USA and China. Instrumental in McCormick’s entry into India, Satish has held several senior roles throughout his 20 years with the company, including Managing Director of McCormick India, Vice President of the Consumer Division based in the USA, and Marketing and Business Development Director Asia, based in China. Satish also worked for five years with Bayer in India.

Satish holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, as well as a Master’s Degree in Science from the University of Mumbai, India followed by the Harvard Business School leadership development program in the USA. Satish is of Indian origin and is married with one daughter.

Firmenich is the world’s largest privately-owned company in the fragrance and flavor business. Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, it has created many of the world’s best-known perfumes and flavors that billions of consumers enjoy each day. Its passion for smell and taste is at the heart of its success. It is renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its thought leadership in sustainability and exceptional understanding of consumer trends. Each year, it invests 10% of its turnover in R&D, reflecting its continuous desire to understand, share and sublimate the best that nature has to offer. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.0 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2015.