Patrick Thomas Confirmed as Covestro CEO

Patrick Thomas and Frank H. Lutz have been confirmed as CEO and CFO respectively of the Bayer engineering plastics spin-off Covestro – the new name for Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) – starting Sept. 1.

Thomas has been CEO of BMS since 2007, while Lutz joined the company in 2014. Lutz, whose responsibilities on the BMS Executive Committee up to now have included administration and services along with the Europe, Africa and Middle East regions (EMEA / EEMEA), additionally will take over the function of labor director from Michael Bernhardt, who will leave the managing board to head an expanded Covestro Human Resources function.

Also joining the Covestro managing board will be Klaus Schäfer and Markus Steilemann. Schäfer, who has been on the BMS Executive Committee and Head of Industrial Operations since Jan. 1, 2015 will be Chief Industrial Operations Officer, covering production and technology.

Steilemann, who also has served on the Executive Committee, will initially be responsible for innovation and retain his function as head of the Polycarbonates business unit. From Jan. 1, 2016, he will additionally assume board responsibility for the Polyurethanes business unit. Joachim Wolff, currently responsible for Polyurethanes, will retire at the end of the year.

Daniel Meyer, presently head of Coatings, Adhesives and Specialties, will remain responsible for this business unit's operations. The new head of the Polycarbonates Business Unit will be announced at a later date.

"We are convinced we have made the right personnel decisions for the success of Covestro as a stand-alone company. Steered by this experienced management team, we intend to position Covestro as a leading company in the global arena and continue to grow dynamically in the future," said Richard Pott, chairman of the Bayer MaterialScience supervisory board.

Patrick Thomas added: "Going forward we aim to further strengthen customer proximity, innovative capability, efficiency and profitability – all of which are of crucial importance to Covestro.”