New leader takes over at Crystal Lake-based Aptar

CRYSTAL LAKE – The 1967 movie “The Graduate” inspired young men to think about many things, but it made Stephan Tanda think about plastic.

Tanda recently took over as president and CEO at Crystal Lake-based Aptar, a global product packaging maker.

“Early in my education, I was influenced by the film ‘The Graduate’ where Dustin Hoffman receives one line of career advice, ‘Plastics. There’s a great future in plastics,’ so I went on to study plastics engineering and also developed a great interest in business, particularly international business,” Tanda said.

Tanda took over as CEO Feb. 1. Former Aptar president and CEO Steve Hagge plans to retire in March after 35 years with the company.

Tanda, from Innsbruck, Austria, got his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining Aptar, he was executive managing board director at Royal DSM NV. There, he oversaw the company’s $5.5 billion global nutrition business and its pharma joint ventures and business interests in the Americas. His 25-year career has included roles at DuPont, Freudenberg Nonwovens Group and DSM, according to a news release from Aptar.

Although he’s retiring as president and CEO, Hagge will remain on Aptar’s Board of directors.

“It was not an easy decision to retire from such a great company like Aptar,” Hagge said in a statement. “I recently turned 65 and I have good health, so I’m happy to be moving on to the next phase of my life where I can spend more time with my family. It’s been a tremendously exciting and rewarding career and I am very fortunate to have been a part of the stellar long-term performance of Aptar.”

He plans to spend time with his wife, Sharon, in retirement. They have been married for more than 40 years.

Aptar has 13,000 employees in 18 countries. The company is one of McHenry County’s largest employers.

Hagge said he’s confident in Tanda’s leadership.

“Stephan’s background in plastics engineering, his passion for sales, marketing and business development, and his prior experience working in many of the same markets, with many of the same customers, will greatly benefit the company,” Hagge said.

In his spare time, Tanda enjoys flying glider planes.

Tanda and his wife, Sabina, who also is from Innsbruck, Austria, recently relocated to this area to be near the company’s headquarters in Crystal Lake.

“My wife and I were excited for the opportunity to return to the U.S.,” he said. “We really enjoy living in the countryside, versus the big city, so the northwest suburbs suit us very well. We are very appreciative of the gracious and warm welcome we’ve received from my colleagues at Aptar and our new friends in the community.”