Kurt Bock (born 3 July 1958), is a German businessman. He has been president of the German Chemical Industry Association since 2016, and was

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

(CEO) of

BASF BASF Societas Europaea, SE () is a German multinational corporation, multinational chemical company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The ...

, the world's largest chemical producer, from 2011 to 2018.

Early life

Bock was born in 1958, in

Rahden Rahden is a town in the far north of North Rhine-Westphalia between Bielefeld and Bremen and between Hanover and Osnabrück. Rahden is part of the Minden-Lübbecke District in East Westphalia-Lippe. Rahden was first mentioned in 1033 and 1816 to ...

, Eastern Westphalia,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Bock studied business administration at the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over ...

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

and

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, and received his doctorate in economics from the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

in 1985. He wrote his thesis on "Corporate success and organization".

Career

Bock joined the finance division of BASF in 1985, after he earned his doctorate (PhD) in economics from the University of Bonn. In 1992, he joined Bosch as head of the finance and balance division. Later he took over the management of the Brazilian subsidiary. In 1998, Bock returned to BASF and was first

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

of the US subsidiary. In 2000, he became head of logistics and IT at the BASF parent company. In 2003, he was appointed to the executive board of BASF AG with responsibility for the finance department. In 2007, he also assumed responsibility as chairman and CEO of BASF Corporation,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, US. Bock became chief executive of BASF in May 2011. He served as CEO until resigning from the board at the end of the annual general meeting on May 4, 2018. He was succeeded by

Martin Brudermüller Martin Brudermüller (born 1961) is a German businessman, and the CEO of BASF since 2018. Early life Brudermüller was born in Stuttgart in 1961. He earned a bachelor's degree and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany ...

. Bock is assumed to be elected as chairman of the BASF

supervisory board In corporate governance, a governance board also known as council of delegates are chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and fire the board of directors. In civil s ...

after the expiration of the mandatory two-year cooling-off period in 2020. In March 2013, Bock advocated inside BASF to renounce the formal use of academic titles in corporate language and correspondence. In September 2012, Bock was elected as chairman of the

European Chemical Industry Council The European Chemical Industry Council or Cefic (from its former French name ''Conseil Européen des Fédérations de l'Industrie Chimique'') is the main European trade association for the chemical industry. It was founded in 1972. Its headquart ...

. From 2013 to 2014, he headed the

International Council of Chemical Associations The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) is the trade association of the global chemical industry. Its members are both regional trade associations like Cefic or the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association, and also national ...

ICCA. He has been a member of the executive board and the Presidium of the German Chemical Industry Association since autumn 2012. In September 2016, he was elected as its president. The term of office runs for two years, up to the next general meeting in 2018. Bock is also a member of the joint advisory council of the

Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...

companies and vice president of the

Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft – or Stifterverband for short – is a registered not-for-profit association that is based in Essen and which also has a capital city office in Berlin. Its work is focused on education, science and inn ...

, a joint initiative of companies and foundations that advises, networks and promotes education, science and innovation.

Personal life

Bock is married, with three children.

References

1958 births Living people BASF people German chief executives People in the chemical industry University of Cologne alumni {{Germany-business-bio-stub