Dr. Rainer Seele, who has been a member of Wintershall's Board of Executive Directors since 2002, has been proposed to the Supervisory Board of Wintershall Holding as Reinier Zwitserloot successor as Chairman effective Oct. 1. Seele is currently responsible for the natural gas business. Effective June 1, Wintershall's Supervisory Board has appointed Martin Bachmann to the Board of Executive Directors of Wintershall Holding with ­responsibility for Exploration and Development. Bachmann is currently Vice President, Gas and Power, Russia, Caspian and Southeast Europe at Royal Dutch Shell.
Seele joined BASF in 1987. After a number of positions in research and research planning, Seele was appointed head of strategic planning at Wintershall in 1996. In 2000, he became Managing Director of Wingas and was appointed to the Board of ­Executive Directors of Wintershall with responsibility for natural gas in 2002. Dr. Peter Eckes, currently Senior Vice President, Global Research & Development Crop Protection will succeed
Dr. Hans Kast, as President and CEO of BASF Plant Science. Eckes joined BASF in 1992.