Dr Harald Lauke was recently appointed as head of German specialty chemicals company BASF’s Performance Polymers Operating Division. He is succeeding Raimar Jahn, who will become head of BASF Coatings AG, Münster, Germany, in July.

Dr Lauke joined BASF in 1986 as a research chemist in the Plastics Laboratory. He has then held various positions within Engineering Plastics before taking over, in 1996, as managing director of Comparex Sistemas Informáticos S.A., Spain. Two years later he was transferred to Singapore as director regional marketing, Engineering Plastics. In 2001, he was promoted to group vice president, Performance Polymers Asia Pacific and in 2002 took on the role of president of BASF South East Asia. In 2004 he became president responsible for Functions and Market Efficiency Asia Pacific, based in Singapore.