Covestro has announced that CEO Patrick Thomas will retire on 31 May, “by mutual and amicable agreement.” The decision was made public on Friday by the company’s supervisory board. Thomas had been due to retire on 30 September 2018 and had informed the supervisory board that he “would not be available for a further term beyond 2018.”
The supervisory board announced in May 2017 that it had appointed Markus Steilemann to succeed Thomas as CEO and this appointment is now effective on 1 June. Steilemann is currently Covestro’s chief commercial officer. Covestro’s management board will consist of three members: Klaus Schäfer, whose contract was renewed in January 2018 until the end of 2022, and will continue as chief technology officer; Thomas Toepfer, who became Covestro’s CFO on 1 April; and Steilemann.
Thomas has been CEO of Covestro and its predecessor Bayer MaterialScience since 2007. He also took leading roles in industry associations such as Cefic, the World Plastics Council, and the German chemical trade association VCI. He was president of the PlasticsEurope association from 2011 until 2017.
By Michael Ravenscroft
Source: Chemical Week
3M and Dow have announced they are cutting thousands of roles from their global workforces in response to economic pressures. Dow has said it will cut 2,000 jobs across its global workforce (around 5%) in a bid to save US$1bn in 2023. The company says it will also cut costs by shutting down “select assets”, though it did not note where it would halt operations.
Sweden’s state mining firm has discovered what could be Europe’s largest rare earths deposit, and says it could help the bloc reduce its reliance on imports of minerals needed to manufacture clean technologies and meet climate targets.
Henkel and Avantium have been partners since 2019, when Henkel joined the PEFerence consortium. This consortium of partners, coordinated by Avantium, aims to establish an innovative supply chain for FDCA and PEF (polyethylene furanoate).
