Dr. Stephan Kothrade

Dr. Stephan Kothrade is Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Stephan Kothrade was born in 1967 in Landshut, Germany. He has a doctorate in Organic Chemistry from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany.

Stephan Kothrade joined BASF in 1995 and began his career in polymer research. Since then, he has held various key positions around the world. In addition to Germany, Stephan Kothrade has held management positions in Hungary and Belgium. From 2012 to 2022, Stephan  Kothrade lived in China and was, among other things, President and Chairman Greater China. In 2022, he assumed responsibility for the Intermediates division. In 2023, he was appointed to the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

Stephan Kothrade is responsible for Monomers; Performance Materials; Petrochemicals; Intermediates; Group Research; Greater China; South & East Asia, ASEAN & Australia/New Zealand; Mega Projects Asia.

When you ask Stephan Kothrade what the chemical industry will look like in the future, he answers: “I am dedicated to drive BASF’s transformation to Net Zero 2050 together with the whole BASF-Team. Identifying and developing the right technologies to reduce our carbon footprint and building up circular material streams, while ensuring profitable growth will be decisive to shape the chemical industry of tomorrow and is therefore at the center of my attention. I am certain that by working together towards this shared vision, BASF and its stakeholders will be jointly creating a better future for our following generations.”