National
Bayer Names New U.S. CEO
By
Jul 31, 2008 - 10:44:37 AM

Greg Babe to Head Bayer Corporation
Attila Molnar to Retire After 30 Years of Service


(HealthNewsDigest.com) - PITTSBURGH, 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.

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 Brunsbüttel, 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. For more information about Bayer, visit www.bayerus.com.

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