Martin Brudermüller, chairman of the board of executive directors and chief technology officer of BASF, was elected president of Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, at Cefic’s recent annual General Assembly. The appointment is effective immediately. He succeeds Daniele Ferrari, CEO of Versalis (Eni), who has held the post since October 2018.

“I am pleased to welcome Martin Brudermüller as our new President,” said Marco Mensink, Cefic’s director general. “With more than 30 years’ experience in various roles in the chemical industry, he will be able to lead us to deliver on the Green Deal objectives. Additionally, his strong belief in cooperation with stakeholders will help Cefic to continue to act as a dialogue partner with the European institutions and societal actors.

“At the same time, we thank Daniele Ferrari for his excellent leadership over the past two years. His constant efforts to balance the industry’s competitiveness with a drive to support the transition and the enhancement of the sustainability agenda resulted into the publication of the Mid-Century Vision. This vision has become the industry compass to start the dialogue with many stakeholders.”

Brudermüller earned his undergraduate degree in 1985 after studying chemistry at the University of Karlsruhe; he received his doctorate in Karlsruhe in 1987. Before joining BASF in 1988, he did a postdoc at the university of California, Berkeley. Brudermüller has been a member of the BASF board since 2006. He was also a member of the High-Level Group on maximizing the impact of EU Research and Innovation Programmes, chaired by Pascal Lamy. 

“The EU chemical industry has the capability, know-how and is developing the innovative technologies to deliver on the challenges we are facing today and in the future,” Brudermüller said. “The Green Deal is designed as a turning point for Europe and the chemical industry stands ready to support its objectives.

“The pandemic is one of many instances where we have shown that our sector is resilient and reliable—when we pushed in short time capacity limits to meet the exponential rise in demand for disinfectants, diagnostic tests, ventilators, protective masks and protective clothing. It is my ambition during my presidency that the European Chemical Industry strikes a Future Chemistry Deal in the framework of the Green Deal—where we deliver technologies and solutions and the political framework enables their economical implementation.” 

For more information, visit www.basf.com and https://cefic.org.