BASF CEO leads 2022 ICIS Top 40 Power Players

BASF CEO Martin Brudermuller has been named #1 in the 2022 ICIS Top 40 Power Players, a global ranking of the leading CEOs and senior executives making the greatest positive impact on their companies and the chemicals industry.

“Brudermuller is not only aggressively decarbonising the world’s largest chemicals company’s vast operations, but also making significant investments in products such as battery materials to enable customers to cut their own carbon footprints,” said Joseph Chang, global editor of ICIS Chemical Business.

Brudermuller was also the recipient of the ICIS CEO of the Year Award in 2021.

BASF is working to scale up two key decarbonisation technologies Brudermuller believes will be game changers by the second half of the decade - electric cracking and methane pyrolysis.

“BASF recent launch of its ‘Net Zero Accelerator’ unit to speed up projects on low-carbon dioxide (CO2) technologies, recycling and renewable energy to ensure it meets its CO2 emissions reduction target of 25% by 2030 en route to net zero by 2050 is a prime example of its commitment,” Chang added.

The company is also rapidly building its capabilities in electric vehicle (EV) battery materials through projects and partnerships and advancing plastics recycling technologies through partnerships in its ChemCycling project.

In the ICIS Top 40 Power Players ranking for 2022, Dow CEO Jim Fitterling is #2, followed by INEOS chairman Jim Ratcliffe at #3, Covestro CEO Markus Steilemann at #4 and Clariant CEO Conrad Keijzer at #5.

The ICIS Top 40 Power Players were selected by the global ICIS editorial news team for demonstrating excellence and vision in one or more of the following areas: ESG (environmental, social, governance), Innovation, Mergers & Acquisitions/Portfolio Management, Projects, and Profitability/Shareholder Value.

“ESG and sustainability looms large in this year’s Top 40 ranking, as this will clearly be a key component for future growth,” said Chang.“The chemicals industry is unique in that it can make the greatest impact on the environment in two key aspects - decarbonising its own operations and producing products that enable others to decarbonise and meet their own sustainability goals.”

The ICIS Top 40 Power Players ranking in the 7 January issue of ICIS Chemical Business is available for download here.