The race for the top job at BASF is over. Long-time CEO Martin Brudermüller will hand over responsibility to Markus Kamieth in 2024. Head of technology Melanie Maas-Brunner is leaving the company.
The top manager Markus Kamieth, who was previously responsible for the Asian business, will be the new CEO of the world’s largest chemical company BASF. The company announced this today. At the end of April next year, the 53-year-old will succeed the previous CEO Martin Brudermüller.
Kamieth, who has a doctorate in chemistry, has been working for BASF since 1999 and has been a member of the Executive Board since 2017. He is currently based in Hong Kong. Kamieth achieved “outstanding results” during his professional positions in Germany, the USA and Asia, said supervisory board boss Kurt Bock about the personnel decision. He combines “strategic foresight and operational implementation strength” and will give BASF’s business new impetus.
Brudermüller will Chief controller at Mercedes-Benz
Martin Brudermüller (62) has been CEO since 2018. He will be saying goodbye to BASF at the end of the Annual General Meeting on April 25th. Brudermüller will then lead the Mercedes-Benz supervisory board.
The designated CEO Kamieth was just one of the favorites for the leadership position at BASF. Technology boss Melanie Maas-Brunner was also highly regarded among observers. Maas-Brunner, who is also labor director and site manager of the main plant in Ludwigshafen, is leaving the company after 26 years. According to BASF, she does not want to extend her contract, which runs until the end of January 2024.
The men’s tradition at BASF continues
Chairman of the Supervisory Board Kurt Bock said: “The Supervisory Board regrets Melanie Maas-Brunner’s desire, which has matured over a long period of time, to dedicate herself to new professional challenges.”
This means that BASF’s tradition of men at the top of the company continues. Before Brudermüller, there were ten CEOs at BASF – all of them men since the chemical company was founded by Friedrich Engelhorn in 1865. Traditionally, the group managers are natives of the Ludwigshafen company.
A successor as labor director has already been found for Maas-Brunner: Katja Scharpwinkel (54), who will become a board member in February, will take over the task. She is currently head of the Europe, Middle East, Africa region. Anup Kothari (55), currently head of the Nutrition & Health division, will also join the board in March.
Sabine Geipel, SWR, tagesschau, December 20, 2023 1:55 p.m