Kurt Bock takes over from Jürgen Hambrecht as chairman of the Board of Executive Directors for BASF at the Annual Meeting, held today in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Hambrecht will retire from the board of directors after eight years in that position.

Kurt Bock was born in Rahden, Germany, in 1958. From 1977 to 1982, he studied business administration at the universities of Münster and Cologne, Germany, as well as at Pennsylvania State University, USA. After three years in research, he received his doctorate in economics from the University of Bonn, Germany. He joined BASF in 1985 as a member of the finance department and was promoted to Head of Technology, Planning and Controlling, Engineering Plastics Division in 1991.
Bock moved to Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany, in 1992, returning to BASF in 1998 as Chief Financial Officer for the company’s North American division. He has been a member of the Board of Executive Directors and has served as BASF’s Chief Financial Officer since 2003. In total, he has been with the company for 19 years.

• BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany