Prof. Dr. Norbert Vennemann has retired from his active time in elastomer research and education on 1 September 2019. Since 1992, Vennemann held the professorship for plastics technology and testing at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences.

On 7 August 2019, Lawrence J. Johnson has been appointed new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Saargummi Group. Johnson will take over from Michael Lorig, who has decided to pursue new opportunities outside the group. Lorig has been working for the group since 2007, where he held various positions, notably Chief Operations Officer and, since September 2014, Chief Executive Officer.

Songwon Industrial Group announced the unexpected death of Maurizio Butti on 7 September 2019. Butti was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Board Member of the company, a position he held since March 2016. Prior to this role, he was Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Songwon and a member of the group’s Executive Committee.

Hexpol AB has appointed ­Peter Rosén as new CFO. He succeeds Karin Gunnarsson, who has decided to leave the company. Peter Rosén is currently CFO of Resurs Holding AB. His previous roles include, among others, CFO of the Flügger group in Denmark and CFO of Leaf (today Cloetta) Scandinavia. Peter Rosén will take on his position no later than 1 December 2019.

On 3 September 2019, Charlie Rogers assumed the new position as President of KraussMaffei Corporation in Florence, KY, USA. He succeeds Paul Caprio, who left the company at the beginning of June 2019. Rogers reports to Michael Ruf, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the KraussMaffei Group.

Effective from 1 October 2019, Jacob Duer has been appointed as the inaugural President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the newly formed not-for-profit organisation Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). Duer was previously Director of the Chemicals and Health Branch of the UN Environment Programme. He also led the work of the secretariat of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and the secretariat for a new financing programme on institutional strengthening at the national level to support the implementation of the chemicals and waste related conventions and SAICM. Duer has more than twenty years of experience with the United Nations with focus on the environment and sustainable development.

Tony Radoszewski has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Plastics Industry Association (Plastics) effective from 16 September 2019. Radoszewski, a plastics industry veteran with nearly 40 years of experience in the field, joins the association after serving since 2006 as the president of the Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI).

Dirk Elvermann, until April 2019 Member of the Board of Wintershall Holding GmbH, Finance, Sales and Commercial, has been appointed as new President of the division Finance at BASF. He succeeds Marc Ehrhardt, who will assume responsibility for the establishment of the new division Global Business Services, effective from 1 September 2019, and subsequently its leadership.

Effective from 1 August 2019, Sucheta Govil has been appointed as new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and member of the Management Board of Covestro. She succeeds Dr. Markus Steilemann, who has so far continued to work as CCO on top of his role as CEO. Govil will be responsible for the three business segments Polyurethanes, Polycarbonates as well as Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties.

Dr. Akira Yoshino, Asahi Kasei Honorary Fellow, has received the European Inventor Award 2019 by the European Patent Office (EPO) in the category of Non-EPO countries for his invention and refinement of the lithium-ion battery.