Nanofilm makes ex-CEO of Dutch manufacturer its group chief commercial officer

NANOFILM Technologies has redesignated its chief commercial and strategy officer, Gian Yi Hsen, 47, to chief strategy officer, and appointed Ian Howe, 50, from the Netherlands, as group chief commercial officer.

Howe was the former chief executive officer of Dutch machining manufacturer Additive Industries, where he served between 2021 and 2022.

In announcing this on Sunday (Jun 11), the mainboard-listed company, which specialises in advanced materials and coatings, said Howe’s primary areas of responsibility would be to oversee, manage and execute the group’s overall commercial strategy. This includes leading its advanced materials business unit, and global industrial surface coatings operations.

Gian would then focus on overseeing and executing the group’s corporate strategies, including merger and acquisition activities to support its inorganic growth, although he will still manage Nanofilm’s risk management systems and sustainability processes, and its Japan operations.

Gian’s redesignation and Howe’s appointment are recommendations by the company’s nominating committee, Nanofilm said in two bourse filings.

Howe, the company noted, has extensive experience and expertise in strategic marketing, business development and cross-functional management.

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Gian, who was a recipient of the Economic Development Board (EDB)-Glaxo scholarship in 1995, was noted for his extensive experience and expertise in global strategic investment promotion, technology solutions identification and incubation, and enterprise transformation.

Before joining the company in 2021, Gian was with the EDB for 20 years, serving in a variety of roles including chief information officer and senior vice-president watching over conglomerates.

Howe, became involved in Nanofilm through his capacity as consultant, starting from January this year. Before joining Additive Industries, he was the business line head of Oerlikon Surface Solutions, a part of Swiss-based technology and engineering group Oerlikon.

Shares of Nanofilm Technologies closed up 2 per cent or S$0.03, at S$1.51, last Friday.