1. Sanjiv Lamba appointed Chairman, effective January 31, 2026. 2. Steve Angel to retire after 25 years at Linde. 3. Sean Durbin becomes COO on October 1, 2025. 4. Linde emphasizes leadership alignment for sustainable growth. 5. Linde's 2024 sales projected at $33 billion.
The leadership continuity with Sanjiv Lamba and Sean Durbin supports stability, reflecting confidence in growth. Historical precedence shows stable leadership often leads to stock appreciation.
The leadership transition is significant given the long-term nature of Linde's business strategy and operational excellence aims. Effective leadership changes often drive stock performance positively.
The structural leadership change is designed to support long-term strategies and growth initiatives. Historical shifts to stable leadership typically reinforce investor confidence over time.
Linde (NASDAQ: LIN) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Sanjiv Lamba, currently serving as Chief Executive Officer, to the additional role of Chairman of the Board, effective January 31, 2026.
Lamba will succeed Steve Angel, who plans to retire from Linde's Board effective January 31, 2026.
Angel will retire from Linde after 25 years of distinguished service, having served as Chairman since 2022, Chief Executive Officer from 2018 to 2022, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Praxair, Inc., Linde's predecessor company, from 2007 to 2018.
Reflecting on his tenure at Linde, Steve Angel said, "It has been a privilege to serve Linde over the past 25 years. I've especially enjoyed working alongside our talented employees and fellow Directors. While I am excited to pursue a new leadership opportunity and give it my full commitment, I am confident Linde is in excellent hands with Sanjiv, the Board, and the leadership team. Together, they've built a strong foundation to continue driving sustainable growth and long-term shareholder value. I look forward to staying connected as a proud, long-term shareholder of Linde."
"I am honored that the Board of Directors has asked me to serve as Chairman of the company," said Lamba. "I'd like to thank Steve for exceptional contributions and leadership over his distinguished career with Linde. I appreciate the invaluable mentorship and insights that I have gained from Steve over the years."
"The Board believes this leadership structure, with Sanjiv serving as both CEO and Chair, reflects the most effective model for the company at this time," said Bob Wood, Linde's Lead Independent Director. "As always, the Board will continue to regularly review these roles to ensure alignment with the company's needs and the interests of its stakeholders."
In conjunction with these Board-level changes, Linde is appointing Sean Durbin as Chief Operating Officer effective October 1, 2025, to accelerate growth initiatives and continue driving operational excellence.
Durbin has been with Linde for more than 30 years, holding various senior leadership positions in the US and Europe, including most recently as Executive Vice President of Linde North America since September 2023.
"Sean brings a wealth of operational expertise, leadership experience and strategic insight across our global markets," said Lamba. "I'm confident in Sean's ability to support Linde in delivering additional shareholder value."
About Linde
Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2024 sales of $33 billion. We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain, decarbonize and protect our planet.
The company serves a variety of end markets such as chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde's industrial gases and technologies are used in countless applications including production of clean hydrogen and carbon capture systems critical to the energy transition, life-saving medical oxygen and high-purity & specialty gases for electronics. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.
For more information about the company and its products and services, please visit linde.com.
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Investor Relations
Juan Pelaez
Phone: +1 203 837 2213
Email: juan.pelaez@linde.com
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