Start your next chapter with us

Joined Elementis: November 2007 

Stijn is responsible for the leadership of the Personal Care business which includes Cosmetics and AP Actives businesses. Stijn is an accomplished leader who has demonstrated an ability to build and lead high-performing commercial teams. Stijn spent many years developing his career at Elementis in various positions in our Personal Care and Coatings business, most recently as Director Global Sales Personal Care. Prior to Elementis, he also held leading commercial roles at Capsugel, now Lonza, and Barentz. His leadership skills combined with strong commercial experience and focus on customer relationships will be key to ensure successful execution of our strategy and the acceleration of growth in our Personal Care segment. Stijn holds Master degrees in Bio-Engineering from Ghent University and Agro-Management from Montpellier SupAgro and is a graduate of the Executive Development Program from the Wharton School.   

Gaining experience in an industry was crucial to broadening my understanding of where I might want to start my career after graduation.

In my intern program with Elementis, I was encouraged to spend some time with various groups at the company. I got to spend some time in various labs, sales, finance, and IT. I was also fortunate to attend a lunch with the CEO that included a career path discussion. This privilege was very informative and helped me feel welcome and valued at the company.

With the support from my manager and team, the opportunity for roles to develop and change over time has contributed to my growth as a chemist and formulator. While helping me grow professionally, Elementis also encourages good work-life balance with amenities such as our in-house gym and Summer Friday’s. I have had a great experience at Elementis and I am eager to see how I continue to grow here.

I had a fantastic mentor during my internship who has continued to help open my eyes to how I could apply my chemistry degree in a way that allows me to utilize my technical background while also allowing me to be creative in a relatable, dynamic industry. My intern experience was pivotal in setting me on my career path in the personal care industry.

When I started my career here, I was impressed by how strong the HSE commitment was from top management down to the region and the sites. Safety and compliance are always considered as the foundation of operation and business success which represents a great HSE culture here at Elementis. Also, people here are friendly, energetic, conscientious and collaborative; which I am happy to work with.

I had the opportunity to staff my HSE team in Asia as well as to improve the team’s competence in different areas of expertise. This all has led to be helpful and to add value to the future of HSE management and technical support for Asia.

Now I’m leading the Asia HSE team of six colleagues together to drive HSE changes in a positive way for further improvements through a systematic approach. Although there are challenges ahead, I’m confident to tackle these challenges with my team.

I really enjoyed my work here and I am excited about the HSE journey ahead in Elementis.

I joined Elementis as a technical sales manager. My responsibilities were to manage, plan and drive commercial and business development deals in the region. I work with the team to understand the business situation of the Personal Care portfolio and collaborate to ensure growth and performance targets are consistently met.

Thanks to the support and guidance from senior managers of the business unit, sales grew more than 40% in 2016 and 2017. I was promoted to sales director in 2016, and continue to manage and achieve business objectives in Asia.

I enjoy the process of closing a business deal with customers. In addition, the business networking within the industry was enormously beneficial for my career growth.

Elementis has been a great company to work for. Safety is a priority for all employees. On the business side, Elementis sets clear strategies in growing the business while encouraging a culture of high performance.

I value being part of Elementis with great colleagues around the globe. It has been extremely motivating and encouraging.

34 years…..can you believe it?  I joined as a young geologist in 1985 as a quality control manager and exploration geologist at the Newberry Plant and Hector Mine. Through all of the years, I have had the honor of representing the world-class deposit of hectorite clay. I have evaluated ores and deposits all over the world. I have seen places and met people that I might never have if I had not been given the opportunity with this company.

Elementis has afforded and supported my passion for teaching and educating teachers, students, legislators, public groups and clubs about the importance of minerals in everyday life through Women in Mining.

What is really important; and, what has made my career so rewarding, is the people. From the chemists in the lab and the IT gurus who keep our computers and network running to the customer service agents who take excellent care of our customers, and the operators mining the ore and packing the products; and, even the executives who keep the lights on and the wheels turning.  For everyone who’s kept our heads in the game and reminding us to stay safe.

I am ending my career in a few years as the production and quality control manager for Elementis.  

It’s been great and I wouldn’t change a thing.  Thanks for the opportunity.

I joined the Talc business as quality manager for the Netherlands. One of my biggest achievements has been to implement the food safety program HACCP, Kosher, Halal and FSCC certification that we needed to start targeting new markets such as food, pharma, and cosmetics with a 100% natural food grade material. I was then able to secure the first customers for our new grade of talc products.

I like that I can focus on three different types of industries – Food, Pharma and Cosmetics. Each industry has its own requirements and developments that make the work challenging and never boring. The cooperation with my colleagues is open and constructive, people are always willing to support each other when needed. Several times a year we gather together for a drink, dinner or sports event.

Now that we are a new part of Elementis, we are starting a new challenge and I’m looking forward to the coming years. I have set goals for myself to learn more about our new portfolio and share the know-how about talc to my new colleagues.

Elementis is an established and well-known player in the cosmetics industry, so the biggest challenge for me will be to grow our business within the food and pharma industry. We will have some exciting years ahead and we will achieve our goals together as a new team.

My work in the Elementis laboratory includes quality control, analysis of environmental samples, and analysis of R & D samples from mining and production.

In addition to that, I take care of the functionality of the laboratory equipment, which I use for 5S-activities at the laboratory.

I really like my work, specifically the work variability. Recently, I have received more responsibility to oversee laboratory equipment.

Learning new things keeps the job interesting. I also like the flexible working hours. And the finest part is – I have great colleagues at the laboratory and in other departments. It is a pleasure to work with them.

I am the finance business partner of the Personal Care business. I work with our business to review and analyze monthly results and drivers of performance. I support our businesses in building financial forecasts, annual and strategic plans, as well as investment projects.

I like working closely with sales, marketing and operations teams. It allows me to get the pulse of our businesses; which is vital for understanding our financials.

Elementis is an international company that has a small company feel. You can be involved in many different topics at the same time.  I got quickly involved in interesting business projects like evaluating the impacts of commodity markets and creating a business case for an investment project in emerging markets.

Our New Jersey location has a strong commitment to work-life balance to accommodate our family and professional life. I valued this when I had my second child and adjusted very smoothly when back at work thanks to good coverage during my maternity leave and being able to work from home or at flexible hours upon my return.