Martin Brudermüller to succeed Kurt Bock as BASF chairman next year. Martin Brudermüller, 56, currently vice chairman of the BASF board, will succeed Kurt Bock as chairman, effective end of the annual shareholders’ meeting on 4 May 2018, BASF announced today.
Bock, 59, has been BASF’s chairman since 2011 and a member of the board of executive directors since 2003. The change will allow Bock to be elected as a member and chair of BASF’s supervisory board in 2020, after the end of the statutory two-year cooling-off period. Jürgen Hambrecht, currently chairman of the supervisory board, has asked Bock to stand for the post of chairman. The final decision on who will be the chairman of the supervisory board lies with the supervisory board.
Hans-Ulrich Engel, 58, was appointed as the new vice chairman of the board. In addition, the supervisory board has extended the appointments of Brudermüller, Engel, and Sanjeev Gandhi, 51, as board members by five years until the annual shareholders’ meeting in 2023. The number of board members will be reduced from eight to seven in May 2018.
The change is part of the long-term succession planning for the supervisory board and the board of executive directors of BASF, the world’s largest chemical company. During the past seven years, Bock has successfully shaped the company and developed it further, BASF says. The supervisory board has asked him to stand for election to the supervisory board in 2020, so that the company can continue to benefit from his expertise and experience.
Brudermüller was appointed vice chairman in 2011. In addition, he is chief technology officer of BASF. He has been a member of the board of executive directors since 2006 and had responsibilities for APAC, among others. Engel became a member of the board of executive directors in 2008 and was among others responsible for North America. Since 2011, Engel is the CFO of BASF.
By Natasha Alperowicz
Source: Chemical Week
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