Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM International announced that it would not renew the contract of CFO Naud van der Ven when it expires next month. The supervisory board “did not agree with the conditions requested by Mr van der Ven for his reappointment,” read a statement. The board also noted that the outgoing finance chief is claiming severance “in excess of his contractual entitlements,” a move the firm considers “inappropriate” and will fight against. Van der Ven’s financial duties will be shared among senior members of the company’s finance team until a replacement is found.
At Ciba, a Swiss chemicals group now owned by German conglomerate BASF, Hans-Juergen Seeger will take over as finance chief. Currently managing director of BASF Services Europe, Seeger replaces Niklaus Meier, an interim replacement for Juerg Fedier, who left Ciba last year.
Grontmij, a Dutch engineering group, tapped Mel Zuydam as its new CFO. The dual British and Dutch national will join the company from the UK’s Highway Agency, where he was group finance director for the past four years. At Grontmij, he replaces Douwe van der Werf, who took up the top finance post at property firm Breevast earlier this month.
Sami Holopainen will take over next month as CFO of Aspocomp, a Finnish electronics group. He joined the company in 2000, mostly recently serving as finance chief of its operations in Thailand. Holopainen replaces Pertti Vuorinen, who will retire at the end of this month.