Wolfgang Hapke to become Head of Human Resources of BASF

Ludwigshafen, Germany – November 5, 2012 – Dr. Wolfgang Hapke, currently head of BASF’s Performance Polymers division, will become President of the Human Resources division effective March 1, 2013. He succeeds Hans-Carsten Hansen who will continue to fulfill his mandate regarding the tariff negotiations for the German Employers’ Federation of the Chemical Industry (BAVC).

Dr. Wolfgang Hapke (56) has been President of the Performance Polymers division based in Ludwigshafen since 2010. He studied economic education, physical education and economics at the University of Goettingen, where he received a doctorate in business administration. He joined BASF in 1989 in the Raw Material Purchasing division. In 1996, he joined the Fiber Products division in the United States and became its head in 1999. He returned to Germany in 2001 and took over as head of the Global Competence Center Purchasing. In 2004, he transferred to Hong Kong to lead the division Market and Business Development, Asia Pacific.

Hans-Carsten Hansen (58) has been President Human Resources since 2003. He studied law at the universities of Berlin and Goettingen. In 1983, he joined the human resources department of BASF. In 1998, he transferred to the then BASF subsidiary Knoll Aktiengesellschaft where he was first head of human resources for the Knoll Group in Germany, then a member of the Board of Executive Directors and Industrial Relations Director. In 2001, he returned to BASF and became head of the Personnel department.

About BASF

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about €73.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

P-12-496