Clariant Announces Key Leadership Appointments.

MUTTENZ, Switzerland -- The Board of Directors of Clariant Ltd announced after its meeting the appointment of three key leadership positions, including designating Roland Loesser as new chairman and Jan Secher as new chief executive.

Mr. Loesser, Clariant's current chief executive, will assume his new role following the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 7, 2006, taking over from the current chairman, Robert Raeber, who will reach the statutory retirement age at that time. Mr. Secher will join Clariant's Management Board on January 1, 2006 and take over as chief executive after the AGM.

Furthermore, Professor Dieter Seebach will retire as Member of the Board of Directors. The Board will propose Dr. Peter Chen, chemistry professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich to replace Dr. Seebach. Dr. Chen, 45, is an expert in Physical Organic Chemistry and a U.S. citizen.

Commenting on the changes, Mr. Raeber said: "The continuity of Clariant's leadership and the further implementation of the Transformation Program is assured by the appointment of Roland Loesser as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Clariant has today a strong financial foundation and a clearly defined and promising strategic direction. I am very pleased to be able to pass on chairmanship to him."

Mr. Raeber added that: "Clariant will benefit from the extensive experience that Mr. Secher has in the areas of international management, business development and marketing in difficult economic environments as well as in the successful implementation of restructuring programs." Clariant will be further aided by the expertise brought by Dr. Chen in the fields of research and innovation, Mr. Raeber said.

The Board of Directors thanked Mr. Raeber for the successful leadership provided over the past four years and expressed its appreciation to Dr. Seebach for his active involvement on the board, particularly in supporting Clariant's research and development activities.

Roland Loesser commented: "I very much look forward to working with Jan Secher. I am convinced that he and the strong management team already in place will successfully complete the Transformation Program and ensure that we achieve our goal of making Clariant a leading company in the specialty chemicals sector."

Jan Secher Background

Mr. Secher, 48, is a Swedish citizen and has a Masters degree in Industrial Marketing from the Linkoeping Institute of Technology in Sweden. He began his career in 1982 with Asea (now ABB) in sales/marketing and product management, including a five-year stint in North America. Beginning in 1989 he was promoted to various leadership positions at ABB in Asia and Europe. He was vice-president and divisional manager of ABB's Automation & Drives Division in Japan from 1994 to 1997, and then a member of the management board of ABB in Sweden.

In 2000, Mr. Secher was relocated to ABB's group headquarters in Zurich, and promoted in 2001 to become a member of the group's management board with responsibility for Manufacturing & Consumer Industries, a division with some 30,000 employees and a turnover of $5 billion U.S. dollars. Since 2003, Mr. Secher has been chief executive officer of SICPA Group, a Lausanne-based firm that has gained a market-leading position in packaging inks and security inks for bank notes. SICPA has a turnover of around CHF 1 billion and approximately 3,500 employees.

Calendar of Corporate Events
November 8, 2005                      Nine Month 2005 Results
February 28, 2006                     Full Year 2005 Results; Annual
                                       Media Conference
April 7, 2006                         Annual General Meeting
May 9, 2006                           First Quarter 2006 Results
August 2, 2006                        First Half 2006 Results
November 7, 2006                      Nine Month 2006 Results

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 25,000 people. Headquartered in Muttenz near Basel, it generated sales of around CHF 8.5 billion in 2004.

Clariant's businesses are organized in five divisions: Textile, Leather & Paper Chemicals, Pigments & Additives, Functional Chemicals, Life Science Chemicals and Masterbatches.

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. www.clariant.com