Dimitri de Vreeze helped build DSM’s materials business. Then he had to sell it

July 21, 2026 - 10:09

After more than 30 years at the science-based company DSM, Dimitri de Vreeze faced what he calls the hardest decision of his career. He had to sell the materials division, the very unit where he had grown up professionally. In a recent interview, the CEO of DSM-Firmenich reflected on why the move made strategic sense even though it felt deeply personal.

De Vreeze joined DSM in the late 1980s and spent decades helping build its materials business into a global player. But as the company shifted its focus toward health, nutrition, and bioscience, the materials unit no longer fit the long-term vision. Selling it meant letting go of a part of the company's identity, and his own. He described the decision as painful but necessary, driven by a clear-eyed view of where the industry was heading.

The sale allowed DSM to double down on its merger with Firmenich, creating a combined company centered on food, fragrance, and health ingredients. De Vreeze says the experience reshaped his understanding of success. He no longer sees it as a finish line or a final destination. Instead, success is a continuous process of making hard choices and staying disciplined about where to invest time and resources. For him, leadership is not about holding on to what you built. It is about knowing when to let go.