Aptar Announces Gael Touya as its Next Chief Executive Officer; Stephan B. Tanda to Retire by the End of the Year

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 17, 2026--

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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“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.

Aptar Announces Gael Touya as its Next Chief Executive Officer; Stephan B. Tanda to Retire by the End of the Year

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel said Tuesday it killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow aimed at further weakening the Islamic Republic’s leadership as it faces its greatest test in decades. Iran, which confirmed the killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, fired salvos of missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, were “eliminated last night,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Larijani was considered one of the most powerful figures in the country since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war.

The Iranian judiciary’s news agency, Mizan, quoted the Revolutionary Guard as confirming the killing of Soleimani.

Both men were key to Iran’s violent crackdown on protests in January that challenged the theocracy’s 47-year rule.

Dubai, a major transit hub for international travel, briefly shut its airspace, the second disruption to flights in the city in as many days as the war showed no signs of abating.

With concerns growing about a global energy crisis, an Iranian official said Tehran had no intention of relinquishing its tight grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil.

President Donald Trump said NATO and most other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the strait.

The Israeli military said it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran’s capital and was stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, who began firing rockets into the northern Israel after the joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran last month.

Larijani, a former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser, advised the late Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January for his role “coordinating” Iran’s violent suppression of nationwide protests.

Soleimani was also sanctioned by the U.S., the European Union and other nations, over his role in suppressing dissent for years through the Basij.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that it struck more than 10 Basij posts across Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killings were aimed at “undermining this regime to give the Iranian people the opportunity to remove it.” There have been no signs of anti-government protests since the war began, as many Iranians are sheltering from the U.S. and Israeli strikes.

The reported killings of Larijani and Soleimani came on the eve of “Chaharshanbe Souri,” or the Festival of Fire, shortly before the Persian new year. Authorities have sent threatening text messages telling the public not to celebrate the festival, warning the rowdy celebrations could be used by “rioters.”

State media aired footage Tuesday of pro-government demonstrations, including images of men in plainclothes brandishing assault rifles and shotguns on the back of motorcycles — signaling the government's intent of preventing protests against the theocracy.

State television later showed crowds of women wrapped in black and older men waving flags and portraits of the late Khamenei.

In Iraq, two drones were shot down by the U.S. Embassy's defense system in Baghdad, while a third drone crashed inside the compound, according to two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

An Associated Press journalist saw a massive fire that appeared to be engulfing a structure in the compound. There was no immediate comment from the embassy.

In the United Arab Emirates, an oil facility in Fujairah was hit, and a man was killed in Abu Dhabi by debris from an intercepted missile — the eighth person to die in the UAE since the start of the war, authorities said.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones, while air defenses could be heard targeting incoming fire over Qatar’s capital, Doha.

Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, is sparking concerns about tightening energy supplies — unnerving the world economy.

A handful of ships have crossed through the strait, and Iran has said the waterway technically remains open — just not for the United States, Israel and their allies. About 20 vessels have been struck.

With oil prices rising, Trump said he had demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to ensure ships can pass through the strait.

Trump fumed Tuesday that the U.S. is not getting support “despite the fact that almost every country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot” be allowed to secure a nuclear weapon.

The European Union’s top diplomat says the 27-nation bloc does not want to be dragged into the conflict with Iran. “This is not Europe’s war,” Kaja Kallas told EU lawmakers. “We were not consulted.”

French President Emmanuel Macron earlier reaffirmed that France is ready to help secure the strait, but only after heavy bombing has stopped.

The Israeli military said it hit Iran command centers, missile launch sites and air defense systems. There was no immediate confirmation from Iran, where little information has been coming out due to internet outages, round-the-clock airstrikes and tight restrictions on journalists.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict started Feb. 28, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

The Lebanese army said that three soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that an airstrike near Beirut’s international airport killed one person and wounded nine, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Israel’s strikes have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese — roughly 20% of the population — according to the Lebanese government, which says 912 people have been killed. In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.

A top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned Tuesday, citing concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war.

His resignation reflects unease about the war within Trump’s political base just as midterm election races start to heat up. Trump’s MAGA coalition is splintering over what it sees as the president’s failure to keep his “America First” campaign promise by leading the U.S. into a war that is driving up gas prices.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said that he always thought Kent — the president’s pick to lead the counterterrorism center — was “weak on security” and that if someone in his government did not believe Iran was a threat, “we don’t want those people.”

Rising reported from Bangkok, Corder from The Hague, Netherlands, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Fire and plumes of smoke rise after a drone struck a fuel tank forcing the temporary suspension of flights. near Dubai International Airport, in United Arab Emirates, early Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

FILE - Ali Larijani, center, head of Iran's National Security Council, gestures as Hezbollah supporters throw rice to welcome him outside Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

FILE -Iranian Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, speaks during a press conference after his meeting with the Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

FILE - Commander of Iran's Basij paramilitary force, Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, gives a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

A view of a building damaged in an Israeli airstrike, in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Two men ride their motorbike past a billboard of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

U.S. Embassy is seen across the Tigris River in Baghdad, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Fire and plumes of smoke rises after a drone struck a fuel tank forcing the temporary suspension of flights. near Dubai International Airport, in United Arab Emirates, early Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

Volunteers clean debris from a residential building damaged when a nearby police station was hit Friday in a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)