Clariant appoints Dr. Hariolf Kottmann new Chief Executive Officer.

MUTTENZ, Switzerland -- The Board of Directors of Clariant International Ltd (SWX:CLN) has appointed Dr. Hariolf Kottmann new Chief Executive Officer, effective October 1, 2008, replacing Jan Secher who plans to pursue new activities outside of Clariant.

Dr. Juerg Witmer, Chairman of the Board of Clariant commented: "Jan Secher has laid the foundation for the new direction of the group. The Board of Directors expresses its thanks and recognition for the major achievements in the restructuring of Clariant under his leadership."

Juerg Witmer further stated: "Dr. Hariolf Kottmann has broad leadership experience in the specialty chemicals industry and an outstanding track record in successfully improving the performance of existing businesses as well as building up new business opportunities. Our objective is to substantially improve the performance of the Clariant group and to leverage Clariant's potential on the basis of a cohesive business portfolio, a global resource base as well as a professional team of business leaders. The Board of Directors is convinced that this will lead to a sustainable enhancement of the value of Clariant."

Hariolf Kottmann, 53, German national, earned his PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Stuttgart in 1984. In 1985 he started his career at the Corporate R&D Center of former Hoechst AG in Frankfurt. In the course of the following years he assumed increasing responsibilities in various chemical divisions of the company, functions such as research and development, production and technologies, controlling as well as in the Central Staff Department of the Hoechst board of management. In 1996 he was appointed deputy to the division head of the Basic Chemicals division at Hoechst AG and took responsibility for the business unit Inorganic Chemicals. In 1998 he moved to Summit, New Jersey (USA) as a member of the Executive Committee and head of the organic chemicals business of Celanese Ltd, a spin-off of Hoechst. In April 2001 Dr. Kottmann was appointed member of the Executive Committee of SGL Carbon AG in Wiesbaden. In this function he is responsible for the Advanced Materials division and the regions Eastern Europe and Asia. He is also in charge of the corporate functions SGL Excellence as well as Technology and Innovation.

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 around 20,000 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.

www.clariant.com