March 27, 2026 15:30

Ahead of the closing of the transaction, expected by the end of March, OMV and ADNOC have designated the leadership of Borouge Group International, the holding company to be created from the combination of Borealis, Borouge and NOVA Chemicals in polyolefins, forming the world’s fourth-largest polyolefins producer with an aggregated production capacity of 13.6 million tonnes/year across Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Roger Kearns (pictured, left), currently president and CEO of NOVA Chemicals, has been appointed chief executive officer of the new holding. He has more than 40 years of experience in the chemicals industry, with a strong track record in establishing joint ventures, turning around and scaling companies, and closing complex deals in key markets including Asia and the Middle East. 
Before joining the Canadian chemicals group, Kearns was chief operating officer at Westlake and previously held operational and investment roles at Solvay in the US, Europe and Asia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Stanford University.

For the CFO position, an interim appointment has been made pending the designation of a permanent executive, expected by May 2026. In the meantime, the finance function will be entrusted to Daniel Turnheim, currently chief financial officer of Borealis.

Borealis CEO Stefan Doboczky (pictured, right) will take on the role of chief commercial officer (CCO) of the new company, while Hasan Karam will become chief operating officer (COO), a position he has held at Borouge since 2023. He brings three decades of experience in refinery and petrochemical operations, including senior roles at ADNOC Refining.

The management team will assume their respective roles upon completion of the Borouge Group International transaction, which is expected to close by the end of March 2026.

Alongside the executive appointments, the shareholder-nominated members of the supervisory board were also announced. Those designated by OMV are Alfred Stern, Reinhard Florey, Martijn van Koten, Edith Hlawati and Georg Knill. The members designated by ADNOC are Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber as chairman, Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Fatema Al Nuaimi, Rainer Seele and Klaus Froehlich.

As Borouge will remain listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) until the planned tender offer to convert Borouge shares into Borouge Group International shares, Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi will remain CEO of Borouge, Jan-Martin Nufer will continue as CFO during the transition period, and Roland Janssen will remain chief marketing officer. 

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