At theGeneral Assembly of ISOPA on December 10, 2013, Frank Grunert of Bayer MaterialScience has been confirmed as President of the industry association. He took over this position first on an interim basis, effective October 1, 2013, after Uwe Hartwig of BASF has receded as previous President of ISOPA.
Frank Grunert is Regional Head Polyurethanes at Bayer MaterialScience for the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America regions. He has nearly 30 years of international experience in the polyurethanes industry. Prior to his current position he lived for a decade in Asia Pacific and China, where he held responsibilities as Regional Head Asia Pacific and general manager of the Polyurethanes Business Unit and has built up their regional headquarters and activities. He has diplomatic experience at the German Foreign Ministry, where he served at the interface between Government and Industry for several years as Industry Attaché (BDI) at the German Embassy in Beijing/China.
At the General Assembly, Mike Fowles, Vice President Global Supply Chain at Huntsman Polyurethanes, has been elected Vice-President of ISOPA.
Mike Fowles has spent a three decades in the international polyurethanes industry, initially in the area of product and process development in ICI. His career with ICI and Huntsman took him to various locations in England, The Netherlands, and Belgium and most recently in the US, where he is situated in the Huntsman head office. He has an extensive knowledge of operations and supply chain as well as holding roles in the product management and commercial areas.