Elkem

Board/Management Information • Sep 26, 2019

Michael König new CEO of Elkem ASA

Michael König new CEO of Elkem ASA

Oslo, 26 September 2019: Current chairman of the board of Elkem ASA, Michael

König will assume the position of CEO of Elkem ASA from 1 December 2019. Current

CEO, Helge Aasen, will step down after more than ten years in the position and

will continue as a board member of China National Bluestar. In addition, the

nomination committee has nominated Helge Aasen to become a member of the board

of directors of Elkem ASA. Hao Zhigang, current member of the board of Elkem,

will assume the position of chairman of the board of Elkem as Michael König

resigns from the board.

"The board has appointed Michael König to follow Helge Aasen after his more than

ten years in the position. As chairman of the board of Elkem the last three

years, Michael König has worked closely on Elkem's strategy and has in-depth

industry knowledge of Elkem's industries and operations. He will have an

excellent background to develop Elkem further", says Hao Zhigang, assuming

chairman of the board of Elkem ASA.

Michael König is 56 years old and is currently the CEO of China National

Bluestar, a position he has held since January 2016. He has extensive

professional experience from the Bayer group in which he has held various

positions, including CEO of Bayer Group Greater China and head of Polycarbonates

Business Unit of Bayer Material Science. He holds a degree in chemical

engineering from the Chemical Engineering Department of the TU Dortmund

University in Germany.

"Elkem is an industry leader and has a strong platform for further growth.

Through my years as both a chairman of the board of Elkem and working in the

industry in general I feel privileged to assume this position. I am very

confident that Elkem will continue to deliver on our ambitions and grasp the

opportunities that lie ahead", says Michael König, assuming CEO of Elkem ASA.

Helge Aasen has been in the position of CEO of Elkem since 2009, and with Elkem

since 1990 in various positions.

"I would like to use the opportunity to thank Helge Aasen for his leadership of

Elkem over the last ten years. Under Helge Aasen's leadership Elkem has had

strong results and successfully been through many changes, including the

acquisition of Elkem by China National Bluestar, the integration of Bluestar

Silicones into Elkem and the relisting on the Oslo Stock Exchange last year.

During his period the company has transformed from an upstream metal producer to

an advanced chemicals and materials company well positioned for the future. With

his close to 30 years of experience from the company in total I am very glad

that he has been suggested as a member of the board", says König.

"It has been an amazing journey for close to 30 years in total and I am proud of

what we have achieved over these years, including the last ten years where I

have had the privilege of holding the position of CEO. Elkem is well positioned

for the future, and I look forward to continuing to be a part of the company as

a member of the board", says Helge Aasen, resigning CEO of Elkem ASA.

Changes to the Board of directors of Elkem ASA:

Hao Zhigang, current member of the board, has been appointed by the board of

directors as new chairman of the board following Michael König's resignation

from the board. The changes will be in effect from 1 December. The nomination

committee has proposed Helge Aasen as a new member of the board.

For further information:

For investor and financial market enquiries: Odd-Geir Lyngstad, Vice President

Finance and Investor Relations, +47 976 72 806, odd-geir.lyngstad@elkem.com

For press related enquiries: Johannes Dobson, Vice President Communications and

Public Affairs, +47 906 77 262, johannes.dobson@elkem.com

About Elkem ASA

Founded in 1904, Elkem is one of the world's leading suppliers of silicon-based

advanced materials with operations throughout the value chain from quartz to

specialty silicones, as well as attractive market positions in specialty

ferrosilicon alloys and carbon materials. Elkem is a publicly listed company on

the Oslo Stock Exchange, and is headquartered in Oslo. The company has 6200

employees with 27 production sites and sales offices in a total of 28 countries

worldwide. In 2018 Elkem had revenues of 25.9 billion NOK. To learn more, please

visit www.elkem.com