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Meet Mathias Miedreich, Umicore’s new CEO

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Mathias Miedreich joined Umicore and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in October 2021, after serving as Executive Vice-President of the Clean Mobility division of Faurecia, a global automotive supplier with a strong focus on sustainable mobility.

He started his career in Strategy Consulting at KPMG and then moved to the automotive industry, in which he accumulated more than 20 years of experience in various senior leadership roles in Europe and Asia. 

Prior to joining Faurecia in 2013 as their Vice President Strategy & New Technologies for the Clean Mobility business, he worked at Siemens and Continental. Mathias holds a Master’s degree in International Business Management from the Erlangen-Nuremberg Friedrich-Alexander University.

"I was impressed with the energy and confidence
of the team. I am very happy with the
warm welcome I received."

During his first days as our CEO he dedicated his time to get to know Umicore and meet our colleagues in our different sites worldwide: 

After being welcomed with waffles at the headquarters in Brussels, he visited Olen, one of Umicore's largest sites and home to our cobalt and specialty materials, electo-optic materials, new business incubator and to our largest research and development center. Mathias and our colleagues discussed R&D roadmaps and competences in battery materials and recycling.

"I was deeply impressed by the expertise, enthusiasm and passion of our R&D people, reinforcing my strong believe that a strong corporate R&D organization is indispensable for a technology company like Umicore."

After Olen he visited our recycling facility in Hoboken, the world’s largest precious metals refiner. Our world-class eco-efficient and unique technologies treat residues from over 200 complex waste streams recovering 17 precious and other valuable metals. Mathias was amazed by our people, their can-do attitude and enthusiasm.

"Throughout Umicore, I consistently see a very high level of professionalism, know-how, pride and humility. That's what makes Umicore unique."

Later on Mathias made his way to Hanau, Umicore's largest site in Germany and it is the home to our precious metals activities as well as to research centers active in the field of clean mobility materials including fuel cell electrocatalysts and automotive emission control catalysts.  He is confident that Umicore will continue to push the boundaries of clean mobility.

"We can keep cars and trucks on the road while also embracing a climate-friendly future. Speaking with the colleagues at one of our research and development sites in Hanau, I saw how Umicore is actively
making this happen."

Umicore's sites in Korea illustrate our commitment and ability to support the transition to cleaner mobility. It is home to our state-of-the-art innovative solutions for all future drivetrain technologies. Mathias was impressed by our strong position in cathode battery materials for EVs, our electro catalysts for fuel cell powered vehicles and our emission control catalysts.

Last November, Mathias Miedreich visited Umicore Nysa, the first plant in Europe to produce at large scale cathode rechargeable battery materials. As from start of production it will be carbon neutral using 100% green power and will contribute to our race in achieving Net Zero GHG emissions by 2035. With our state-of-the art and proprietary production technologies, we will contribute to the European Union’s electrification roadmap with our innovative technologies and a sustainable supply chain.