Alexium International Group Limited (Alexium) announces that Dr. Dirk Van Hyning has recently resigned from his position as chief executive officer of the company. The Board has appointed as Interim CEO Dr. Robert "Bob" Brookins, who is currently Alexium’s executive vice president of research and development and who has held operational roles with the company since 2010. As well as having been a major force in the development of the flame retardant technologies, Brookins has been the driver behind the evolution of Alexium’s bedding market technologies and in particular the phase change material (PCM) product line Alexicool.

In this respect, Brookins has shown himself to be a commercially focused entrepreneur.

He has been working across the entire business and in particular has been orchestrating product development with end customers; working closely with sales and marketing; involved in all aspects of pricing, logistics and supply chain management; and developing metrics to demonstrate the superior performance of Alexium’s products.

Over the past eight years, Brookins has developed from the research product developer to the innovator and joint market lead, and he has been instrumental in running the fast-developing PCM part of the business from inception to development to sales.

Brookins’ team of product development and research scientists has been instrumental to this effort. This team has been integral to Alexium’s growth and has facilitated Alexium’s business model of providing innovative products to address critical gaps in the flame retardant and PCM markets. Their support has enabled Brookins to take on expanded operational roles and drive a holistic vision for Alexium growth.

Alexium Board Chair Susan Thomas said, “We are grateful to Dirk for his five years of service to Alexium and wish him all the best going forward. I am delighted that Bob Brookins has agreed to serve as Interim CEO. Dr. Brookins has been with the company since its inception. He is a very familiar face to our customers and partners, as well as the investment community. He has been instrumental in the development of Alexium’s market leading, proprietary technologies and shown that he has an ability to work closely with product development and marketing to bring innovative products to market.”

Brookins said, “Alexium has reached an exciting stage where the performance of our products is gaining wide market awareness, which positions the company to gain greater penetration into current markets and expansion into new. Coordination of Alexium resources to accomplish this is my focus, and I look forward to driving this effort.”