Effective October 1, 2012, Stef Kranendijk will step down as ceo of Desso Holding BV (Desso) and take up the position of Chairman. At the same time Alexander Collot d’Escury (48), currently Chief Commercial Officer, will be appointed ceo.

Kranendijk noted, "Desso has gone through a healthy transformation over the past five years making it a company that continuously innovates through creativity, functionality and Cradle to Cradle. Thanks to the efforts of all employees this has led to consistent significant growth of Desso’s market share and profitability. I have great confidence that Alexander will continue to lead Desso to even higher levels."

In his role as Chairman, Kranendijk will continue to drive the implementation of the Cradle to Cradle philosophy within Desso and will continue to communicate externally Desso’s progress in having all products Cradle to Cradle certified by 2020.  In addition he will continue to give support to the development of key markets that are relatively underdeveloped for Desso, both within and outside of Europe.