Photos: Bayer Names New U.S. CEO

Greg Babe to Head Bayer Corporation

PITTSBURGH, July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.
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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 Brunsbuttel, 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.
Babe will remain in Pittsburgh, which serves as Bayer North American
regional headquarters and Bayer MaterialScience NAFTA headquarters.
Molnar was born in Thalmassing, Bavaria, Germany. He obtained a doctorate
in chemistry from Erlangen University and joined Bayer AG on March 1, 1978, as
a plant manager at the company's Leverkusen site. Two years later, he moved to
Bayer's U.S. subsidiary, known at that time as Mobay, where he worked in
polyurethanes manufacturing in New Martinsville, W.Va., and Baytown, Texas. He
returned to Germany in 1983 as manager of the TDI facility in Brunsbuttel.
In 1986, Molnar returned to the United States as Regional Production
Manager for Polyurethanes and Coating Raw Materials in Baytown. In 1988, he
moved to the company's U.S. headquarters in Pittsburgh where he was given
overall responsibility for polyurethanes manufacturing in the U.S. On his
return to Leverkusen in 1990, he was placed in charge of global manufacturing
for the Coating and Special Raw Materials Business Group. In 1992, he also
became Chairman of the Quality Management Steering Committee at Bayer AG,
which is responsible for preparing and coordinating DIN and ISO certification
of the company's various organization units. In 1996, Molnar was appointed
General Manager of the Organic Chemicals -- Business Group. The Supervisory
Board named him to the Board of Management of Bayer AG effective April 1,
1999.
Molnar is active in many professional organizations and serves on the
Board and the Executive Committee of the American Chemistry Council as well as
the Board of the National Association of Manufacturers. He is also a member of
the Governing Board of the Carnegie Bosch Institute and the Board of Trustees
of Carnegie Mellon University. Additionally, he sits on the boards of
directors of Allegheny Heart Institute; the Allegheny Conference; Pittsburgh
Life Sciences Greenhouse; and the Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership.
Dr. Molnar and his wife, Patty, live in Pittsburgh.
About Bayer
Bayer employs 17,000 people at more than 50 sites in its North American
Region, including more than 20 production facilities. Its sales in the region
exceeded EUR 8 billion in 2007, thus accounting for one-quarter of the total
Group sales of EUR 32.4 billion. An investment volume of approximately EUR 11
billion -- including research and development expenses -- over the past 10
years underlines Bayer's commitment in North America.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of
health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. The company, founded in 1863,
is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. Its U.S. subsidiary Bayer Corporation
has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company's products and
services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At
the same time Bayer creates value through innovation, growth and high earning
power. The Group is committed to the principles of sustainable development,
and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen.
Economy, ecology and social commitment are corporate policy objectives of
equal rank.
For more information about Bayer, visit www.bayerus.com.

Contact:
Lauren Trocano
Bayer Corporation
412-777-5200
lauren.trocano.b@bayer.com

SOURCE Bayer

Lauren Trocano of Bayer Corporation, +1-412-777-5200,
lauren.trocano.b@bayer.com