Chemicals giant BASF announces CEO shakeup as Europe’s gas crisis bites

by | Dec 20, 2023 | Stock Market

The world’s top chemicals producer BASF
BAS,
+0.26%
on Wednesday set out plans to shake up its board, as the company struggles to retain its profit margins in the face of Germany’s energy crisis and the global economic slump.     The shakeup will see company insider Dr Markus Kamieth take over from incumbent CEO Martin Brudermüller in April 2024, BASF said in a statement, as it also outlined plans to appoint two new members to its board. 

Dr Kamieth first joined BASF as a research scientist in 1999 and later took up a seat on the chemicals maker’s board in 2017.The pick sits in line with BASF’s tradition of choosing long-term company employees as its CEOs.  Shares in BASF stayed flat on Wednesday having increased by 6% over the previous 12 months.  BASF’s executive reshuffle comes as the German company has made a series of major cost cuts this year after lowering its guidance in July due to a slump in demand for chemicals, caused by a downturn in Europe, a slow recovery from COVID in China, and high inflation in the U.S.    High energy prices, as a result of the sanctions placed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, have also caused BASF’s costs to surge. Prior to the war in Ukraine, Germany had relied on supplies of cheap natura …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe world’s top chemicals producer BASF
BAS,
+0.26%
on Wednesday set out plans to shake up its board, as the company struggles to retain its profit margins in the face of Germany’s energy crisis and the global economic slump.     The shakeup will see company insider Dr Markus Kamieth take over from incumbent CEO Martin Brudermüller in April 2024, BASF said in a statement, as it also outlined plans to appoint two new members to its board. 

Dr Kamieth first joined BASF as a research scientist in 1999 and later took up a seat on the chemicals maker’s board in 2017.The pick sits in line with BASF’s tradition of choosing long-term company employees as its CEOs.  Shares in BASF stayed flat on Wednesday having increased by 6% over the previous 12 months.  BASF’s executive reshuffle comes as the German company has made a series of major cost cuts this year after lowering its guidance in July due to a slump in demand for chemicals, caused by a downturn in Europe, a slow recovery from COVID in China, and high inflation in the U.S.    High energy prices, as a result of the sanctions placed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, have also caused BASF’s costs to surge. Prior to the war in Ukraine, Germany had relied on supplies of cheap natura …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]

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