Bayer AG Names New U.S. CEO Greg Babe to Head Bayer
PITTSBURGH, July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The Management Board of Bayer AG announced today that Greg Babe will become President and CEO of Bayer Corporation and the Senior Bayer Representative in North America, succeeding Dr. Attila Molnar, who will retire from the company after 30 years of service, effective October 1, 2008. Bayer Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of the Bayer Group of Germany, a EUR 32 billion global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials.
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Babe, 51, will also maintain his role as President and CEO of Bayer MaterialScience LLC, one of the leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and a part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business. Prior to this position which he has held since 2004, Babe was President and CEO of Bayer Corporate and Business Services LLC, where he was responsible for providing expertise and support in engineering, information systems, procurement, materials management, human resources, financial, accounting and other business services to Bayer Corporation and its affiliates.
Since 2002, Molnar presided over the implementation of the new Bayer organization in North America and the restructuring of its product portfolio, which included more than 15 acquisitions and six divestitures that have helped to strengthen and diversify Bayer's business. During this time, Bayer increased its North American sales by approximately 50 percent in local currency, while Bayer's North American operations also generated a remarkable turnaround in operating profit, growing by EUR 1.6 billion.
Molnar, 60, was appointed to the Bayer AG Board of Management in 1999 where he has served as Chairman of the Board Committee for Human Resources, Labor Director and the representative for the North American region, and as a member of the Board Committee for Technology and Environment.
Molnar was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Bayer Corporation and Senior Bayer Representative for the United States and Canada on July 1, 2002.
Since joining Bayer in 1978, Babe has held several management positions of increasing responsibility, including manager of the Brunsbuttel, Germany, facility; director and general manager of Hennecke Machinery, then a unit of Bayer's Polymers Division in Pennsylvania; vice president of corporate quality; and director of a national program to implement Bayer's enterprise resource planning system. He was named senior vice president of information services in 1999 before being named president and CEO of Bayer Corporate and Business Services LLC in 2003.
Babe serves on the Boards of Directors for Bayer MaterialScience LLC; Deerfield Urethane, Inc.; and Sheffield Plastics. In addition, he is the chair of the Bayer Political Action Committee (BAYPAC). For five years he served as the executive sponsor of the Bayer Diversity Advisory Council.
Babe also is serving his second term as chairman of the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division Operating Committee. In Pittsburgh, he is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors at Duquesne University serving as Vice Chair of Audit and Finance. Babe is also a member of West Virginia University's College of Engineering and Mineral Resources Advisory Committee.
A native of West Virginia, Babe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University. Babe and his wife, Carla, have four children and live in Mt. Lebanon, Pa.
Babe will remain in Pittsburgh, which serves as Bayer North American regional headquarters and Bayer MaterialScience NAFTA headquarters.
Molnar was born in Thalmassing, Bavaria, Germany. He obtained a doctorate in chemistry from Erlangen University and joined Bayer AG on March 1, 1978, as a plant manager at the company's Leverkusen site. Two years later, he moved to Bayer's U.S. subsidiary, known at that time as Mobay, where he worked in polyurethanes manufacturing in New Martinsville, W.Va., and Baytown, Texas. He returned to Germany in 1983 as manager of the TDI facility in Brunsbuttel.
In 1986, Molnar returned to the United States as Regional Production Manager for Polyurethanes and Coating Raw Materials in Baytown. In 1988, he moved to the company's U.S. headquarters in Pittsburgh where he was given overall responsibility for polyurethanes manufacturing in the U.S. On his return to Leverkusen in 1990, he was placed in charge of global manufacturing for the Coating and Special Raw Materials Business Group. In 1992, he also became Chairman of the Quality Management Steering Committee at Bayer AG, which is responsible for preparing and coordinating DIN and ISO certification of the company's various organization units. In 1996, Molnar was appointed General Manager of the Organic Chemicals -- Business Group. The Supervisory Board named him to the Board of Management of Bayer AG effective April 1, 1999.
Molnar is active in many professional organizations and serves on the Board and the Executive Committee of the American Chemistry Council as well as the Board of the National Association of Manufacturers. He is also a member of the Governing Board of the Carnegie Bosch Institute and the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University. Additionally, he sits on the boards of directors of Allegheny Heart Institute; the Allegheny Conference; Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse; and the Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership.
Dr. Molnar and his wife, Patty, live in Pittsburgh.
About Bayer
Bayer employs 17,000 people at more than 50 sites in its North American Region, including more than 20 production facilities. Its sales in the region exceeded EUR 8 billion in 2007, thus accounting for one-quarter of the total Group sales of EUR 32.4 billion. An investment volume of approximately EUR 11 billion -- including research and development expenses -- over the past 10 years underlines Bayer's commitment in North America.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. The company, founded in 1863, is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. Its U.S. subsidiary Bayer Corporation has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company's products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time Bayer creates value through innovation, growth and high earning power. The Group is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social commitment are corporate policy objectives of equal rank.
CONTACT: Lauren Trocano of Bayer Corporation, +1-412-777-5200,
lauren.trocano.b@bayer.com
Web site: http://www.bayerus.com/