On 1 January Michelle Jou became the new woman in charge of the Polycarbonates business unit at Covestro (Leverkusen / Germany; www.covestro.com). She succeeds Markus Steilemann, who was appointed head of the company’s Polyurethanes division. When the former Bayer MaterialScience unveiled its management team following its IPO last year, Steilemann also became a management board member, in charge of Innovation (see also Plasteurope.com of 17.08.2015).

Jou, who previously worked as head of commercial operations within the group’s Asian PC activities, is the first woman to hold the post. Speaking to Plasteurope.com on the sidelines of “Chinaplas” in 2013, Jou emphasised the importance of China to the global PC market, which the then-Bayer MaterialScience acknowledged by moving its global polycarbonate headquarters to Shanghai in 2011 (to read the full interview, see Plasteurope.com of 06.06.2013).