Clariant Board of Directors Appoints Jurg Witmer as Chairman

Business Wire, April 10, 2008

MUTTENZ, Switzerland -- At its meeting today, Clariant's (SWX:CLN) Board of Directors elected Jurg Witmer as Chairman and Rudolf Wehrli as Vice-Chairman. Jurg Witmer replaces Roland Losser, who decided not to stand for re-election to the Board of Directors at today's Annual General Meeting. Rudolf Wehrli replaces Tony Reis, who is stepping down from the Board of Directors.

Jurg Witmer (59, Swiss) has been a member of the Board of Directors since April 2007. From 1999 to 2005 he was CEO of Givaudan, and he is currently Chairman of its Board of Directors. He previously occupied various global management positions at Roche. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Syngenta.

Rudolf Wehrli (58, Swiss) was CEO of the Gurit-Heberlein Group from 2000 to 2006. He has held various managerial positions with the Silent Gliss Group, Credit Suisse and Mckinsey.

Clariant - Exactly your chemistry.

Clariant is a global leader in the field of specialty chemicals. Strong business relationships, commitment to outstanding service and wide-ranging application know-how make Clariant a preferred partner for its customers.

Clariant, which is represented on five continents with over 100 group companies, employs about 21,000 people. Headquartered in Muttenz, near Basel, Switzerland, it generated sales of CHF 8.5 billion in 2007. Clariant's businesses are organized in four divisions: Textile, Leather & Paper Chemicals, Pigments & Additives, Masterbatches and Functional Chemicals.

Clariant is committed to sustainable growth springing from its own innovative strength. Clariant's innovative products play a key role in its customers' manufacturing and treatment processes or else add value to their end products. The Company's success is based on the know-how of its people and their ability to identify new customer needs at an early stage and to work together with customers to develop innovative, efficient solutions.