Press releases
29 July 2015, Zwingenberg

BRAIN panels decide on next steps for the continuation of the industrialization strategy

BRAIN management team to be enlarged

In the enlarged BRAIN management team, co-founder Dr. Jürgen Eck has taken on the role of chairman and chief executive of BRAIN AG as of July 01, 2015. The long-standing CTO and deputy chairman thus succeeds Dr. Holger Zinke, who transferred to the supervisory board after his election by the general meeting of shareholders on July 08, 2015. There, he has taken on the office of deputy chairman of the supervi-sory board following Michael Motschmann (chairman of MIG Verwal-tungs AG). Mr. Motschmann, who had lent his support to the compa-ny since 2007 as a member of the supervisory board, deserves praise and thanks by the shareholders, the supervisory board and not least the management board of BRAIN for his tireless and committed efforts on the company’s supervisory body.

In addition to his role on the supervisory board, Dr. Zinke will reinforce his activities in the areas of economic and research policy, supporting the implementation of a bio-based economy (“bio-economy”) in politics, the economy, and the capital market. Furthermore, he will head the newly created Industrial Advisory Panel, which consists of distinguished persons from the fields of economy, research, and politics and which will advise the company in matters of strategy.

In view of the growing operative areas within BRAIN AG, the long-standing heads of the “BioActives” and “Microbial Strain Development” technology units, Dr. Michael Krohn and Dr. Guido Meurer, as well as Dr. Martin Langer, who heads the “Corporate Development” corporate unit and who has been a part of the company for more than 20 years, have been appointed to the management team and granted full power of attorney. Together with the management board and the long-established head of Finance & Controlling, Rudolf Bröcker, they will, in future, be responsible for technology, strategy, business development, finances, and the operational business, in particular for the internationalization of the co-operation business and the extension of the product business.

In light of the development of BRAIN’s business operations, Thomas Kessler (former head of Global Platform Specialties with Merck KGaA) will join BRAIN’s Business Operations unit in order to strengthen it and manage its strategic orientation. The BRAIN Group’s management team was also enlarged by Frank Goebel (former Investment Director/Strategic Investment Group with the Royal Bank of Scotland), who was tasked with the expansion of value chains by means of M&A activities.

“These measures, which were unanimously approved at the last ordinary general meeting, underscore both the shareholders’ and the supervisory board’s emphatic commitment to the industrialization strategy adopted as early as 2010 and sustainably strengthen the group along the way of managing its acquisitions which already have been successfully integrated in the value chains. The newly created “Industrial Advisory Panel” will consolidate the company’s industrial positioning thanks to valuable external expertise,” explains Dr. Ludger Müller, chairman of the supervisory board, on this occasion.

Adds Dr. Jürgen Eck, chairman of BRAIN’s board of management: “The formation of a broader management team at BRAIN, which explicitly also includes the leaders of the company’s subsidiaries in the team, has created an adequate structure for further growth in the co-operation and in the industrial product business alike. The management team is experienced and highly motivated to make essential contributions for BRAIN and for the biological transformation of the target industries.”

The shareholders, supervisory board and the board of management have thus set the course for the future development of BRAIN in a trailblazing manner. BRAIN as a company will grow further thanks to experience based on more than 20 years of co-operation with industry partners. At the same time, the company will continue to be active in the markets as an innovation leader across the entire range of biotechnology applications. By implementing the agreed-on strategy, shareholders and the entire staff of BRAIN will contribute to ensuring that available potentials are harnessed in the long term and that the company will continue to play a leading role when it comes to the broad-range biologization of industries.


Seit dem 01.07.2015 hat Dr. Jürgen Eck, langjähriger CTO der BRAIN die Funktion des Vorstandsvorsitzenden (CEO) der BRAIN AG übernommen.
© Luise Böttcher, Archiv BRAIN AG

Press Image 1

Seit dem 01.07.2015 hat Dr. Jürgen Eck, langjähriger CTO der BRAIN die Funktion des Vorstandsvorsitzenden (CEO) der BRAIN AG übernommen.

Seit dem 01.07.2015 hat Dr. Jürgen Eck, langjähriger CTO der BRAIN die Funktion des Vorstandsvorsitzenden (CEO) der BRAIN AG übernommen
© Luise Böttcher, Archiv BRAIN AG

Press Image 2

Seit dem 01.07.2015 hat Dr. Jürgen Eck, langjähriger CTO der BRAIN die Funktion des Vorstandsvorsitzenden (CEO) der BRAIN AG übernommen

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