Dr. Kadri is CEO of Syensqo, a global specialty materials leader which originated from the demerger of Solvay, a 160-year old chemical company, in December 2023. 

Before the spin off, Dr. Kadri had successfully led the turnaround of Solvay since her appointment as CEO in 2019, delivering double-digit EBITDA growth and 18 consecutive quarters of positive free cash flow, deleveraging a strong balance sheet and promoting superior people engagement. 

During her tenure, she established the company’s Purpose; drove the Group’s G.R.O.W. strategy and fulfilled its economic objectives two years ahead of schedule. She led the holistic Solvay One Planet sustainability roadmap, which outperformed the CO2 reduction objectives set by the Paris Agreement, and the Solvay Diversity, Equity and Inclusion roadmap. 

Ms. Kadri has extensive leadership experience across a variety of industries on four continents and with leading industrial multinationals, including Shell, UCB, Dow and Sealed Air. Prior to Solvay, she was CEO and President of Diversey in the United States of America, having led the company’s return to profitability, and subsequent spin-off and divestiture to Bain Capital. 

Ilham Kadri is an independent Board member at A.O. Smith and L’Oréal and she is Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), President of the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), Vice-Chair of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), member of the Leadership Council of the Industry Transition Accelerator (ITA) as well as a permanent member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council (WEF). 

She is a philanthropist who created two charity funds THE HYGIEIA Network in the USA to combat illiteracy and the Solvay Solidarity Fund to support families and communities impacted by hardship. 

She is a Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Namur (BE) and EWHA University (KR). Ilham Kadri holds a degree in chemical engineering and a PhD in physics and chemistry from Strasbourg University.