Leadership
Where leadership meets entrepreneurial spirit
Leadership is more than a role—it’s a mindset. It reflects a commitment to driving innovation, nurturing a strong and inclusive corporate culture and delivering consistent value to our partners and clients. Our executive board leads with a clear vision, embracing OQEMA’s entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative approach. With a focus on adaptability, integrity and progress, it ensures OQEMA continues to thrive in a fast-evolving world.
Lars Wallstein, Co-CEO
As Co-CEO, Lars Wallstein leads OQEMA with a strong focus on sustainable growth, customer partnerships and long-term value creation. With more than 25 years of international leadership experience in chemical distribution and speciality chemicals, Lars Wallstein brings deep industry expertise and a proven track record of driving business development across European markets.
Before joining OQEMA, Lars Wallstein held senior leadership positions at IMCD, where he was responsible for Germany and several international markets. Throughout his career, Lars Wallstein has successfully developed business units, built international teams and led acquisition and integration projects. Lars Wallstein also serves as President of FECC, the European Association of Chemical Distributors, reflecting his commitment to advancing the industry.
Lars Wallstein is passionate about combining entrepreneurial thinking with a collaborative leadership style. Together with the Executive Board, Lars Wallstein is committed to strengthening OQEMA's position as one of Europe's leading chemical distributors while driving innovation, operational excellence and sustainable solutions for customers and partners alike.
Patrick Barthels, Co-CEO
As Co-CEO, Patrick leads OQEMA with a clear vision for growth, innovation and sustainability. Since joining the board in 2020 as Chief Sales Officer and becoming Co-CEO in 2022, he has guided the company through major transformations, positioning OQEMA among Europe’s top chemical distributors and driving its global expansion.
With a background in process engineering and business administration, Patrick brings broad expertise from leadership roles at Shell, the Fraunhofer Society and the automotive sector. His strategic focus is anchored in Vision 2027, supported by investments in digitalisation, infrastructure and a dynamic, people-focused culture.
Under Patrick’s leadership, OQEMA is seizing opportunities in an evolving market—embracing sustainability, empowering employees and shaping the future of the chemical industry.
Philipp Junge, COO
Since June 2022, Philipp has served as COO of OQEMA, driving operational excellence and shaping the company’s strategic future. He oversees Europe-wide logistics and production assets, promotes a culture of safety and sustainability and leads the internal unification strategy to strengthen alignment across the business—while spearheading the expansion of OQEMA’s specialty chemicals segment. Committed to advancing sustainability, he focuses on portfolio innovation and long-term value creation for customers and stakeholders.
Philipp brings extensive experience from senior roles in the chemical industry, including LANXESS, as well as a consulting background in the chemical and energy sectors. His expertise covers value chain management, production and logistics operations as well as sustainable business practices. With international experience in England, Spain and Russia, he combines a global outlook with a pragmatic, entrepreneurial mindset.
Hartmut Kunz, CFO
Since joining OQEMA in 2019 as Chief Financial Officer, Hartmut has been a driving force behind the company’s transformational growth, expanding its scale and strengthening its capacity for innovation. As CFO, he is responsible for finance, IT and marketing, with digitalisation at the core of his success strategy. Hartmut has been instrumental in acquisitions, operational excellence and the expansion of OQEMA’s service portfolio. His earlier consulting career at Roland Berger and EY equipped him with deep expertise in restructuring, financial reporting and building resilient corporate structures.
Hartmut’s vision is to complete OQEMA’s transformation journey by harnessing finance, digitalisation, marketing and structural excellence to deliver sustainable growth and long-term success. Focused on value creation, he ensures OQEMA has the resilience and flexibility to navigate market shifts and seize new growth opportunities.
