WVU Graduate to Head Bayer Corp.

A West Virginia University graduate will become president and chief executive officer of Bayer Corp. and Bayer’s senior representative in North America, effective Oct. 1, the company announced recently.

Greg Babe is a native West Virginian who earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from WVU in 1978. He is a member of the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources advisory committee and the WVU Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Distinguished Alumni Academy.

“Greg Babe is a West Virginian who has been very successful and has remained loyal to his roots and to the University,” said Gene Cilento, dean of the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. “We are extremely pleased for him and feel fortunate to count him among our friends.”

Bayer Corp. is the U.S. subsidiary of the Bayer Group of Germany, a global enterprise in health care, nutrition and high-tech materials.

Babe will remain in his present position as president and CEO of Bayer MaterialScience, which he has held since 2004. Previously, he was president and CEO of Bayer Corporate and Business Services, where he provided expertise and support in engineering, information systems, procurement, materials management, human resources, financial, accounting and other business services.

Since joining Bayer in 1978, Babe has held several management positions of increasing responsibility, including manager of the Brunsbüttel, Germany, facility; director and general manager of Hennecke Machinery, then a unit of Bayer’s Polymers Division in Pennsylvania; vice president of corporate quality; and director of a national program to implement Bayer’s enterprise resource planning system. He was named senior vice president of information services in 1999 before being named president and CEO of Bayer Corporate and Business Services in 2003.

Babe serves on the boards of directors for Bayer MaterialScience, Deerfield Urethane and Sheffield Plastics. In addition, he is the chair of the Bayer Political Action Committee. For five years he served as the executive sponsor of the Bayer Diversity Advisory Council.

Babe also is serving his second term as chairman of the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division Operating Committee. In Pittsburgh, he is a member of the executive committees and boards of directors of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Duquesne University.

Babe lives in Mt. Lebanon, Pa., with his wife, Carla, and their four children. He will remain in Pittsburgh, which is Bayer’s North American regional headquarters.