Oterra, a leading producer of natural colors and color solutions, has appointed Arnd Kaldowski as Chair, succeeding Cees de Jong. The change will be effective as of Oterra’s next Annual General Meeting. Cees will remain a member of the Board of Directors.

During the last four years, Cees de Jong has played a critical role in shaping Oterra’s success. He oversaw the transition to an independent company, supported management through significant changes, and helped embed a strong company culture.

Under his leadership, Oterra has more than doubled revenue to more than €450m from €220m, increased EBITDA to just below €70m from €36m and grown its workforce from 580 to more than 1,300 employees.

Cees has also been instrumental in a number of important strategic initiatives, such as expanding backward integration through acquisitions, supporting advanced biotech innovation with partnerships; and laying a strong foundation for expansion in the US through significant investments in the market.

As incoming Chair, Arnd Kaldowski brings extensive operational expertise and experience in the US market. Most recently, he served as CEO of Sonova, where he successfully scaled the company’s operations and drove significant growth in the country.

Prior to this, he held senior leadership roles at Danaher, Siemens Medical and Boston Consulting Group. Arnd will support Oterra in capturing the unparalleled US conversion opportunity, driven by increased consumer focus on natural ingredients as well as increased regulatory scrutiny.

The transition occurs at a moment when Oterra is showing strong momentum and is firmly set up for continued growth. Oterra delivered a strong financial performance in FY25, with close to 8% organic sales growth, driven particularly by strong demand in Europe and accompanied by a significant margin uplift.

Looking ahead, Oterra expects FY26 to be a transformative year with continued growth and margin expansion. The US market opportunity is widely regarded as the most exciting development in the 150-year history of the natural colors industry.

Growth will be supported by the recently completed Wisconsin-based innovation, collaboration, and production hub, as well as the launch of innovative products such as Jagua Blue, Arctic Blue and Simply Brown. With a strong strategic, industrial, and financial foundation and this historic opportunity ahead, Oterra is positioned to deliver sustained growth.

“It has been a privilege to help shape Oterra’s journey from its carve-out to the global leader it is today. I am proud of what we have achieved together – from building a strong culture to doubling the company’s size – and I look forward to supporting Oterra’s continued success as a Board member,” said Cees de Jong.

“Oterra has achieved impressive growth under Cees’ leadership, and I am honored to take on the role of Chair at such an exciting time. With the US market opportunity ahead of us, I believe Oterra is uniquely positioned to lead the natural colors industry into its next chapter,” said Arnd Kaldowski.

Martin Sonntag, CEO of Oterra, added: “On behalf of the management team, I would like to thank Cees for his outstanding contributions and guidance over the past years. I also warmly welcome Arnd as our new Chair and look forward to our collaboration. With our strong financial momentum and an unprecedented expansion opportunity ahead of us, Oterra is entering its next stage of growth with confidence.”