Chemical distributor Univar Inc. has named J. Erik Fyrwald as president and chief executive effective May 7, 2012. Fyrwald, age 52, is currently president of Ecolab, a global provider of water, hygiene and energy technologies that merged with Nalco in December 2011. Fyrwald will also become a member of Univar’s board of directors. As a result of the addition of Fyrwald to the executive team, Univar’s current president and CEO, John Zillmer, will assume the position of executive chairman of Univar and its board of directors, succeeding William S. Stavropoulos, who will move to the role of lead director. Fyrwald brings extensive global experience to his new role with Univar. Prior to the merger with Ecolab in 2011, he was chairman and chief executive officer at Nalco. Before joining Nalco in 2008, Fyrwald held several executive positions during his 27-year career at DuPont, including group vice president of DuPont’s agriculture and nutrition division and vice president of DuPont’s nutrition and health business.
