Podesta succeeds Derek Fairclough, who will lead BASF’s Environmental, Health, Safety & Security organization also effective November 1.
Most recently, Podesta served as the Senior Vice President for BASF’s Performance Materials business in North America since July 1, 2009. He served in a prior role as Group Vice President for the Performance Chemicals business of BASF between 2003 and 2009.
Podesta joined BASF in 2003, after 20 years with General Electric, where he was Vice President and General Manager, GE Plastics Americas. Podesta holds a bachelor’s degree in plastics engineering from the University of Massachusetts.
As MRC wrote before, Christopher Toomey, Senior Vice President of Regional Procurement for BASF in North America , will assume responsibility for the BASF Coatings business in North America, effective November 1.
BASF’s Dispersions & Pigments Division in North America offers a comprehensive portfolio of resins, binders, latex, pigments and effect pigments, colorants, and systems to meet specific application needs for the coatings, construction, and printing, packaging and plastics markets. Our innovative products also help manufacturers in the adhesives, nonwovens and fiber bonding industries meet functional and performance demands. The addition of key product areas such as formulation additives, rheology modifiers, light stabilizers, photoinitiators, and antioxidants significantly enhances the existing BASF product portfolio for these markets.
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has nearly 17,000 employees in North America, and had sales of USD19.3 billion in 2013.
BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.