Leadership change in Europe: Effective February 1, 2025, Dr. Yun Chen will take over the leadership of European production for Covestro’s Performance Materials (PM) Business Entity. In this position, he succeeds Dr. Daniel Koch, who is leaving the company at the end of January at his own request.
After three successful years as head of Performance Materials Operations APAC, Dr. Yun Chen will assume the role of production head for Covestro’s European sites starting in February. The chemical engineer, who earned his doctorate in Germany, began his professional career at the Krefeld-Uerdingen site. With more than three decades of experience in various positions at Covestro and Bayer, Chen brings not only technical expertise but also comprehensive international industry knowledge and long-standing leadership experience.
“I would like to sincerely thank Daniel Koch for his excellent work and commitment over the past years. I wish him all the best for his future career,” says Hermann Dörholt, Head of the Performance Materials Business Entity at Covestro. “At the same time, I am delighted to welcome Yun Chen in his new role as head of our production in Europe. His leadership skills, comprehensive industry knowledge, and not least his impressive achievements as production manager in the Asia-Pacific region make him the ideal candidate for this important position. With his many years of experience and international perspective, I am confident that Yun will successfully guide and develop our European sites through the current challenges.”
Focus on Safety, Reliability, and Efficiency
“The chemical industry in Europe faces numerous challenges and, like Covestro, is in the midst of a transformation. In the coming years, we will make our production even more reliable and efficient and drive the transition to climate neutrality and a circular economy. I look forward to tackling these challenges together with our dedicated team. The current developments also offer numerous opportunities, for example through the increased use of digitalization and artificial intelligence,” says Chen.
“I want to bring in my experiences from Asia while also benefiting from the expertise of our European colleagues. I am particularly focused on the safety of our employees and production facilities. It therefore remains the foundation for our daily actions,” Chen adds.
Long-standing Experience at Covestro
In his nearly 30 years of experience, Dr. Yun Chen has held numerous leadership positions within the group. After studying chemical engineering in Beijing and Shanghai, Chen earned his Ph.D. at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the Technical University of Darmstadt. In 1994, he began his career with Bayer AG at the Krefeld-Uerdingen site. Here, he took on various positions with increasing responsibility.
In 2001, Chen moved to Shanghai, where he helped build up polycarbonate production as plant manager and from 2008 took over production and technology management for the corresponding business unit. In 2017, Chen was appointed Senior Vice President and Head of Covestro Integrated Site Shanghai (CISS), the company’s largest single production site worldwide. Most recently, in 2021, he took on the additional role of Production Manager Performance Materials Asia Pacific.