Aptar Announces Gael Touya as its Next Chief Executive Officer; Stephan B. Tanda to Retire by the End of the Year
AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR), a global leader in drug delivery, dosing and protection technologies, and consumer product dispensing, today announced that Gael Touya, a seasoned global executive with more than 30 years of experience at the company, most recently as Aptar Pharma President, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2026. He will succeed Stephan B. Tanda, who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 2017. Stephan is expected to continue to work closely with Gael and the Board as an advisor through the end of the year to help ensure a seamless transition as the company enters its next phase of growth. Stephan intends to retire from Aptar's Board by the end of 2026 and the Board will appoint Gael as a director on September 1, 2026.
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Aptar Announces Gael Touya as its Next Chief Executive Officer; Stephan B. Tanda to Retire by the End of the Year
"Gael has played a pivotal role in shaping Aptar Pharma's strategic direction, expanding our technologies and services to support customers from formulation to patient. His global experience and deep understanding of each of Aptar's businesses, core technologies and end markets make him uniquely equipped to lead the company forward. Gael has helped advance our leadership in regulated drug delivery and the Board believes he can bring the strategic clarity and operational discipline needed to extend that success across our consumer segments. Following a thorough succession planning and selection process that considered both internal and external candidates, the Board unanimously concluded that Gael was the best choice to lead Aptar into its next chapter. The Board has full confidence in his vision for the Company," said Candace Matthews, Chairperson of AptarGroup.
"I am honored to step into this role," said Gael Touya, President of Aptar Pharma, and President and CEO Designate of AptarGroup. "Aptar has been my professional home for more than 30 years, and I am energized by the opportunity to help shape the Company's future alongside our global teams. Our purpose could not be more meaningful, and I am committed to building on our strengths while listening closely to our people, customers, and partners. I want to thank Stephan for his outstanding leadership and the foundation he has built for our continued success."
Gael Touya: A Proven Leader Positioned to Accelerate Aptar's Next Chapter
With over three decades at Aptar across Europe, Asia, and North America, Gael brings deep commercial, operational, and technical expertise, paired with a global mindset and a strong track record of results. Since 2018, Gael has served as President of Aptar Pharma and has guided the segment's transformation into a more comprehensive, science‑driven, and digitally enabled partner to many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. Under his leadership, the segment has expanded significantly, achieving approximately 82% topline growth during this period.
During Gael's tenure, Aptar Pharma has advanced a clear vision of supporting customers at each stage of development with the patient at the center. He led the expansion of the segment's technologies and services to create an integrated, end‑to‑end model designed to help customers move from early formulation through clinical development and commercialization with greater efficiency. This approach combined well targeted and executed acquisitions with strategic organic development and focused innovation. He worked to strengthen Aptar Pharma's offering by adding regulatory expertise, clinical development support, patient onboarding and digital health capabilities intended to improve adherence. During his tenure, the segment also expanded respiratory and nasal drug delivery beyond traditional local treatments into systemic applications for therapeutic areas such as depression, seizures and migraines, and advanced nasal delivery technologies from small‑molecule use cases into larger and more complex molecules, including biologics.
These strategic investments, combined with his focus on customer partnership and operational excellence, have helped reinforce Aptar Pharma's position as a leader and a trusted global partner in regulated drug delivery.
Gael also brings a deep understanding of Aptar's broad portfolio, having previously served as President of Aptar Food + Beverage (now Aptar Closures), President of Food + Beverage Europe, Vice President of Business Development for Skincare and Color Cosmetics (now part of Aptar Beauty), and leadership assignments in India where he helped establish Aptar's pharmaceutical office and business. He also held full P&L responsibility in China and Japan, where he led the expansion of Aptar's presence in key high‑growth markets. Known for his people‑centered leadership, Gael is deeply committed to talent development, sustainability and fostering a culture of innovation across regions and teams.
"Gael is uniquely qualified to take on the role of President and CEO. His global perspective, strong commercial and operational background, and deep understanding of Aptar's businesses position him to drive our next chapter of growth," said Stephan Tanda, President and CEO of Aptar.
Gael holds a degree in business and international management from Excelia Business School in France, an MBA from ESSEC Business School in France, and has completed multiple executive leadership programs, including the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. His leadership philosophy is grounded in curiosity, collaboration and creating lasting impact for patients, consumers and customers worldwide.
Honoring Stephan Tanda's Remarkable Tenure as CEO
Aptar also recognizes the outstanding leadership of Stephan Tanda, whose tenure as CEO since 2017 has been defined by performance, purpose, and global expansion, both organically and some 20 bolt on acquisitions and investments, with the majority being in Pharma, including the acquisition of the Active Material Science business in 2018.
Since 2017 under Stephan's leadership, adjusted EBITDA margins expanded from approximately 19% for the yearend 2017 to approximately 22% for the yearend 2025, adjusted earnings per share grew 67% with the majority of capital allocated to Pharma, helping establish it as Aptar's largest and most profitable segment. During this time, capital returned to shareholders increased approximately 100%. In 2025, Aptar marked its 32nd consecutive year of paying an annually increasing dividend.
Stephan shared, "I am profoundly grateful to our employees, customers, stakeholders and Board for their trust and support during my tenure. Leading Aptar has been an immensely rewarding experience, and I appreciate the continued partnership with Gael that has strengthened our company and advanced our mission."
Stephan also accelerated Aptar's global footprint in high‑growth regions across Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East; advanced operational excellence and cost discipline; and cemented Aptar's leadership in sustainability, receiving more than 95% of global electricity consumption from renewable sources, expanding recycled content, advancing circularity initiatives and earning recognition from TIME, CDP and Barron's.
Perhaps most importantly, Stephan championed Aptar's culture - reinforcing inclusion, leadership development, community impact, and the company's enduring commitment to safety and purpose.
About Aptar
Aptar is a global leader in drug delivery, dosing and protection technologies, and consumer product dispensing. Aptar partners with the world's top healthcare and consumer brands to deliver medicines and create exceptional user experiences. Serving diverse markets, from pharmaceutical to beauty to food and beverage, Aptar combines market expertise with proprietary design, engineering and science to develop innovative solutions that help improve lives worldwide. Headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, Aptar employs 14,000 dedicated people across 20 countries. Learn more at http://www.aptar.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including with regard to Aptar's leadership transition, future strategy and expected business performance. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by use of words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "future," "potential," "continues" and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "should," "would" and "could" are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. Accordingly, our actual results or other events may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that exist in our operations and business environment including, but not limited to: the successful integration of acquisitions; the regulatory environment; and competition, including technological advances. For additional information on these and other risks and uncertainties, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the discussion under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
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