Vernon Sankey

Mr. Vernon Sankey has been elected as the new Chairman of Firmenich’s Board of Directors, in replacement of Mr Jean-Marc Bruel, who confirmed his desire to retire after eight years in office.

A 59-year-old British national and Oxford University graduate, Mr. Sankey joined the Firmenich Board in October 2006. He is currently a member of the boards of Zurich Financial Services AG and Atos Origin SA.

Mr. Sankey spent most of his career with Reckitt & Colman, until its merger with the Dutch firm, Benckiser in 1999. He was President of Reckitt & Colman France, Managing Director of Reckitt & Colman’s UK Food business and Group Director for North America, before taking over as CEO from 1992 to 1999.

Firmenich is No.2 worldwide in the fragrance and flavour business. Firmenich achieved an annual turnover of 2,847 million Swiss Francs (CHF) at the end of June 2008.