Umicore

Board/Management Information • Aug 31, 2011

Press release Regulated information 31 August 2011

CP-2011-32-R 8:30 CET

Umicore appoints new Chief Financial Officer

Umicore today announced the appointment of Ludo Vandervelden as the Group's new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mr Vandervelden, 55, has extensive experience in the automotive sector. He is currently the Senior Vice-President Accounting, Finance, Information Systems & Legal at Toyota Motor Europe. He previously held senior management positions at Daimler / Mercedes Benz in Belgium and Germany and has strong general management experience as well as expertise in areas such as marketing, strategy and supply chain management. Mr Vandervelden will join Umicore on 1st October and, following a one month induction period, will assume his new responsibilities on 1st November.

Umicore's current CFO, Martine Verluyten, had previously announced her intention to retire from her executive role at Umicore to focus on her non-executive and charitable commitments outside the company at the end of 2011. Ms Verluyten will remain with Umicore until the end of 2011 and during the last three months of the year will ensure that Mr Vandervelden is able to benefit from her insight and experience.

Marc Grynberg, Umicore's CEO, commented: "Martine has served Umicore with distinction over the past five years. She has developed and nurtured the finance and information systems functions to become truly integrated global services. She has also led our activities in North America and has been an outstanding team-builder and mentor. I would like to thank her for her outstanding contribution to our success and I wish her well in her various nonexecutive assignments.

"I am delighted to welcome Ludo to Umicore. He has a strong track-record and deep experience of the automotive industry - a sector that is of great importance to Umicore. We will benefit from his insight and expertise and I am looking forward to working with him in the Executive Committee."

Ludo Vandervelden

Umicore Group Communications

Naamloze vennoolschap / Société Anonyme phone +32 2 227 71 11 VAT BE0401 574 852 Broekstraat 31 Rue du Marais fax +32 2 227 79 00 Company number 0401574852 B-1000 Brussels e-mail info@umicore.com Registered office Broekstraat 31 Rue du Marais Belgium web www.umicore.com B-1000 Brussels

For more information

Investor Relations:

Mr. Geoffroy RASKIN	+32 2 227 71 47	geoffroy.raskin@umicore.com
Mrs Evelien GOOVAERTS	+32 2 227 78 38	evelien.goovaerts@umicore.com
Director of Group Communications:
Mr. Tim WEEKES	+32 2 227 73 98	+32 473 98 49 14	tim.weekes@umicore.com

Umicore profile

Umicore is a global materials technology group. It focuses on application areas where its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy makes a real difference. Its activities are centred on four business areas: Catalysis, Energy Materials, Performance Materials and Recycling. Each business area is divided into marketfocused business units offering materials and solutions that are at the cutting edge of new technological developments and essential to everyday life.

Umicore generates the majority of its revenues and dedicates most of its R&D efforts to clean technologies, such as emission control catalysts, materials for rechargeable batteries and photovoltaics, fuel cells, and recycling. Umicore's overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on an ambition to develop, produce and recycle materials in a way that fulfils its mission: materials for a better life.

The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents and serves a global customer base; it generated a turnover of € 9.7 billion (€ 2.0 billion excluding metal) in 2010 and currently employs some 14,400 people.