Werner Baumann becomes the new Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG

LEVERKUSEN, 26-Feb-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — Effective May 1, 2016, Werner Baumann will become the new Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG. This was decided by the company’s Supervisory Board at its meeting today. The current CEO of Bayer AG, Dr. Marijn Dekkers, proposed to the Supervisory Board that his contract be dissolved effective April 30, 2016, following the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting. The Supervisory Board approved this proposal. “With its clear focus on the Life Science businesses and its new organizational 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 familiarization period. I would like to wish Werner Baumann every success in his new role,” said Dekkers, whose contract was originally set to run until December 31, 2016. At the present time, Baumann is the Board member with responsibility for Strategy and Portfolio Management. He will retain these functions in the future. Going forward, the Board of Management of Bayer AG will comprise seven members instead of eight.

“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,” said Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bayer AG. “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,” Wenning said.

Oliver Zühlke, Chairman of the Bayer Central Works Council and Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board, emphasized 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.”

Werner Baumann was born in Krefeld, Germany, on October 6, 1962. After studying economics at RWTH Aachen University and the University of Cologne, he joined Bayer in 1988. His first duties were in the Corporate Finance Department in Leverkusen. In 1991 he transferred to Bayer Hispania Comercial in Barcelona, Spain, to take up a position as controller, becoming assistant to the managing director in 1995. One year later, he moved to Bayer Corporation in Tarrytown, New York, latterly heading up the global Business Planning & Administration organization 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. In October 2003, he was appointed a member of the Board of Management of the newly formed subgroup Bayer HealthCare AG, also serving as the company’s Labor Director. As a member of the Board of Management and Labor Director of Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Berlin, Germany, from 2006 through September 2009, his roles included actively participating in this company’s integration into the subgroup. Werner Baumann has been a member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG since January 1, 2010. Prior to September 30, 2014, he served as Bayer AG’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Effective October 1, 2014, he was appointed Chief Strategy and Portfolio Officer (CSPO) with responsibility for Corporate Development and Mergers & Acquisitions. He is also responsible for the Europe region. Between April 1 and December 31, 2015, Baumann was additionally Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer HealthCare AG. Werner Baumann is married and has four children.

Dr. Marijn Dekkers has been Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG since October 1, 2010. Born on September 22, 1957, in Tilburg, Netherlands, Dekkers studied chemistry and chemical engineering. He began his professional career in 1985 as a scientist at the corporate research center of General Electric in the United States, gaining experience in various units of the company before joining AlliedSignal (subsequently Honeywell International Inc.) in 1995. In 2000, Dekkers became Chief Operating Officer of Thermo Electron Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of laboratory instruments (later renamed Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. following the acquisition of laboratory supplier Fisher Scientific). As of 2002, he served as this company’s President and CEO. After spending 25 years of his career in the United States, Marijn Dekkers joined Bayer on January 1, 2010. He is also a member of the Board of Directors at General Electric in the United States. In September 2014, he took over the two-year presidency of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), Frankfurt. He is also a Vice President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Berlin. Marijn Dekkers is married and has three daughters. He holds both Dutch and U.S. citizenship.

Find more information at www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

Dr. Michael Preuss
Head of Corporate Communications
Bayer AG
51368 Leverkusen
Germany
Phone: +49 214 30-41156
michael.preuss@bayer.com

SOURCE: Bayer AG

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Werner Baumann (left) and Dr. Marijn Dekkers
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Werner Baumann (left) and Dr. Marijn Dekkers