Envu's board of directors has appointed Chen Lichtenstein as its new chairman.
Lichtenstein has over 25 years of experience leading and running global companies in life science and related fields, including environmental health.
“As a leader solely dedicated to the environmental science space, Envu has a bold vision for the future that involves continued growth and partnerships while delivering value-added, sustainable innovations for our customers,” says Envu CEO Gilles Galliou. “We are excited to welcome Chen as our new chairman of the board as his extensive experience leading global operations and his deep expertise in our industry will enable him to immediately add value in this role as he works with us toward achieving our ambitious goals, for our customers and the industry.”
Lichtenstein is assuming the chairman role from Pontus Pettersson, partner at Cinven, the private equity firm that has majority ownership in Envu. Pettersson has been serving as chairman since Envu was formed in October 2022 through a carveout from the former Environmental Science Professional business of Bayer, which Cinven purchased.
“I am very pleased to pass the reigns of the chairman of the board of directors role for Envu to Chen Lichtenstein,” Pettersson says. “Chen’s expertise in biotech and crop protection, his experience in the investment and financial sectors, and his passion for building strong organizations that generate value for their customers, employees and shareholders lends itself well to supporting Envu in the next chapter of its exciting growth.”
As a long-time industry executive, Lichtenstein says he has followed Envu since its inception.
“I am impressed by the breadth of innovative, sustainable solutions Envu offers, which drive customer engagement and quality growth,” Lichtenstein says. “Further enhanced by its robust network of innovation partners and selective acquisitions, Envu is well positioned to continue driving forward, and I am delighted to be joining its strong team.”
Lichtenstein previously served in the formation of Syngenta Group in 2020 until the end of 2023 as its chief financial officer, also responsible for strategy, integration and productivity. From 2014 to 2020, he served as the president and chief executive officer of ADAMA (now a member of Syngenta Group). From 2013 to 2014, Lichtenstein served as the president and chief executive officer of China National Agrochemical Corporation (CNAC), ChemChina’s strategic business division, the parent company of Syngenta Group. From 2006 to 2013, he served as the deputy chief executive officer, head of global operations and held various other roles within ADAMA. Prior to that, from 1999 to 2006, Lichtenstein served at the New York and London offices of Goldman Sachs, as an executive director in the Investment Banking division.
Lichtenstein holds a Ph.D. in business administration from the Graduate School of Business, and a J.S.D. from the School of Law at Stanford University, a B.Sc. in Physics from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, summa cum laude, and an LL.B. from the Faculty of Law, cum laude, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In addition to serving as chairman of the Envu board of directors, Lichtenstein also serves on the board for Teva Pharmaceutical.
