Univar Announces CEO Succession Plan

"I am proud to have served as Univar's Chairman and CEO during this pivotal period in our Company's history.  Our business transformation is well under way, and we are moving toward becoming a high-performance, innovative, growth company that consistently delivers unsurpassed value for all our stakeholders," said Newlin.

When appointed CEO in April of 2016, the board of directors asked Mr. Newlin to focus on three key areas.  The first was to chart a course for the future by developing a strong global strategic plan.  The second was to reverse the downward financial trend by building a culture focused on growth, flawless execution and results.  And finally, he was asked to lead the process to find and develop an outstanding CEO successor.

"The Board and I conducted an extensive search, led by a renowned executive search firm.  Through this robust process we reviewed numerous external candidates and interviewed several outstanding individuals.  As the process continued, it became clear that David is uniquely qualified to lead Univar.  He is a 35-year veteran of the chemical distribution industry and has held multiple leadership positions within Univar.  He designed and executed a successful go-to-market strategy yielding double-digit growth in EMEA.  He is a transformative leader who shares my vision and goals for Univar and has earned the respect of our employees, supplier partners, and customers.  He is undeniably the best leader to continue our success."

William S. Stavropoulos, lead director of Univar's board said, "We are deeply grateful to Steve for accepting this unplanned responsibility and taking on the role of Chairman and CEO for the last two years.  He leveraged his experience, intellect and leadership to achieve the objectives the board gave him, and we are pleased that he will continue to provide support as Executive Chairman of the Board.  We are confident that this is the right time to transition responsibility to his successor, and David is the right leader with the right team behind him to continue executing Univar's strategy and vision."

Since joining Univar in 2002, Jukes has been recognized for his leadership and business acumen, holding various roles of increasing responsibility.  He was named President of Univar EMEA in 2011, and then President of Univar USA and Latin America in 2015.  In May of 2017, Jukes was promoted to President and COO of Univar Inc. where he oversees the day-to-day operations of all of Univar's business segments, including the US, EMEA, Canada and Rest of World.  Prior to joining Univar, Jukes was Senior Vice President of global sales, marketing and industry relations for Omnexus, a plastics industry e-commerce platform.  In 1991 he joined Ellis & Everard, a chemical distribution company in the UK, ultimately becoming Vice President of corporate development for their polymers division.  He currently serves on the board of DCC plc, a £12.3 billion international sales, marketing and support services group that is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and is publicly traded in the UK.  Jukes is a graduate of the London Business School.

"I am looking forward to leading Univar, and I am honored that the board of directors has entrusted me with the opportunity to build on the success and profitable growth that Steve has set in motion during his tenure as Chairman and CEO and will support as Executive Chairman," said Jukes.  "Over the last two years, we've defined our three strategic priorities, Commercial Greatness, Operational Excellence and working as One Univar.  I am committed to these and firmly believe they provide the foundation for growth and high performance that will create tremendous value for our shareholders, employees, customers, and supplier partners."

About Univar Inc.
Founded in 1924, Univar (NYSE:UNVR) is a global chemical and ingredient distributor and provider of value-added services, working with leading suppliers worldwide.  Supported by a comprehensive team of sales and technical professionals with deep specialty and market expertise, Univar operates hundreds of distribution facilities throughout North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.  Univar delivers tailored customer solutions through a broad product and services portfolio sustained by one of the most extensive industry distribution networks in the world.  For more information, visit www.univar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control.  We caution you that the forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and that actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this press release.  In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "plan," "seek," "comfortable with," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" or "continue" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology.  Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.

David Jukes
President and Chief Operating Officer
Univar Inc.

David Jukes is President and Chief Operating Officer of Univar Inc. (NYSE: UNVR), a global chemical and ingredients distributor and provider of value-added services. Jukes oversees the day-to-day operations of all of Univar's business segments, including Canada, EMEA, Rest of World, and the USA.

With more than 35 years of international chemical distribution experience, Jukes most recently served as President of Univar USA and Latin America, architecting the transformation of the USA, the company's largest geographic operating segment. In this role, for which he retains responsibility, he has led the strengthening of the segment's capabilities to serve customers and suppliers by focusing on organic growth opportunities in target markets and driving operational excellence initiatives across the organization. Previously, he led the successful turnaround of Univar's businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, resulting in a doubling of the segment's EBITDA margin and positioning it for continued growth.

Jukes has held several leadership positions since coming to Univar in 2002, including Vice President, Sales and Marketing, EMEA; and Regional Director of Univar UK, Ireland, the Nordics and Distrupol.

Before joining Univar, Jukes was Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing and Industry Relations for Omnexus, a plastics industry e-commerce platform and was Director of Business Development for Ellis & Everard Plc.

Jukes serves on the board of DCC plc, a publicly UK quoted international sales, marketing and distribution group. He is a graduate of the London Business School.

SOURCE Univar Inc.

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