Bayer names Werner Baumann new CEO
pharmafile | February 26, 2016 | Appointment | Medical Communications | Bayer
Werner Baumann will become the new chief executive of Bayer AG from May 1, the company has announced.
The decision was made by the Germany-based firm’s supervisory board at a meeting held February 24, that Baumann will succeed current chief executive Dr Marijn Dekkers in the role, with the title of chairman of the board of management.
As anticipated, Dekkers told the board that he is leaving Bayer April 30, to take on the chief executive role at Unilever. His contract was originally to run to the end of 2016.
In a statement, Dekkers said that he was leaving Bayer in a position of stability, praising Baumann. He comments: “With its clear focus on the Life Science businesses and its new organisational structure, Bayer is in a position of strength. The course for successful future development has already been set at all levels. Also with a successor from within the company there will be no need for a familiarisation period. I would like to wish Werner Baumann every success in his new role,”
In his current role on the board, Baumann is responsible for strategy and portfolio management, and the company said he will retain these functions in the future as part of a Bayer board of seven members, rather than eight.
Werner Wenning, chairman of the supervisory board of Bayer AG, comments: “Following rapid implementation of the realignment under Dr Dekkers’ leadership, Bayer is now entering a new era as a pure Life Science company. That is why this is now the right time to hand on responsibility for managing the company. We are very grateful to Dr Dekkers. During his term of office, Bayer has experienced an extraordinary development in both operational and strategic terms.
“In Werner Baumann, Bayer has a strong and experienced management personality from within its own ranks. In his various positions at Bayer and as a member of the board of management since 2010, he has contributed substantially to strengthening and realigning the company. We are convinced that, under Werner Baumann’s leadership, Bayer will continue along its track of successful development.”
Oliver Zühlke, chairman of the Bayer Central Works Council and vice chairman of the Supervisory Board, emphasised that Bayer’s decision represents continuity for the company. “We have been closely involved in the changes of recent years. We would like to thank Dr Dekkers for always being open to the concerns raised by the employee representatives. In Werner Baumann, Bayer has chosen a manager who is intimately familiar with the company. On behalf of the entire workforce, we would like to wish him every success in his new role. We will do all we can to support him.”
Baumann, 53, has for some time been viewed as a likely successor to Dekkers. He joined Bayer in 1988 in the corporate finance department In 1996, he moved to Bayer’s New York offices, latterly heading up the global Business Planning & Administration organisation of the Diagnostics Business Group. In July 2002, Baumann returned to Germany to become a member of the executive committee and head of Central Administration & Organization at Bayer HealthCare. He has been a member of the board of management since 2010, and has served as Bayer’s chief financial officer.
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