IFF has announced that Ralf Finzel has been named executive vice president and global operations officer, effective November 1. He succeeds Francisco Fortanet, who will be leaving the company following a period of transition. With this appointment, Finzel becomes a member of IFF’s Executive Committee and will be based in the company’s New York City headquarters.

Finzel is an award-winning international operations executive with more than three decades leading operations and integrated supply chain management for multinational companies. He most recently served as vice president of integrated supply chain for Honeywell International Performance Materials and Technologies Business Group in Houston. He first joined Honeywell in Germany as an operations manager in 1999, and his many successes led to roles of increasing responsibility and scope in Europe and the U.S. Prior to joining Honeywell, he worked in research and plant management roles for Hoechst AG.

“We are delighted to welcome Ralf to our executive team,” said Frank Clyburn, chief executive officer, IFF. “In addition to decades of leadership experience, his focus on operational excellence, sustainable continuous improvement and customer satisfaction makes him a natural fit to the team, and I believe he’ll be a key contributor to IFF’s success moving forward. I want to thank Francisco Fortanet for his many years of outstanding leadership, innovation and dedication to IFF, and look forward to a seamless transition.”

Finzel is a Six Sigma Black Belt and holds extensive training certifications. He earned a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Würzburg, Germany. In addition, he has been published in industry periodicals, such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society and the Journal of Organic Chemistry.