Dr. Andreas Förster has been appointed Executive Director of DECHEMA. He succeeds Professor Kurt Wagemann, who took over the position in 2010 and will now retire. The appointment will take effect on July 1, 2021.
Andreas Förster wants to strengthen the core of DECHEMA, namely the content-related work and the networking of the members, secure the financial basis, and develop new business areas. To this end, the DECHEMA Office is being given a new structure with two new divisional heads.
Dr. Kathrin Rübberdt will take over as head of the “Science and Industry” division. At the same time, she will succeed Andreas Förster as General Manager of ProcessNet. The “Science and Industry” division encompasses all of DECHEMA’s content-related activities, which are handled in thematic units. The division also includes the expansion of existing or the development of new business fields such as databases, contract studies, or consulting services. On an interim basis, Kathrin Rübberdt remains Head of Communications at DECHEMA.
Dirk Rühl heads the “Services” division. His area of responsibility covers all services and supporting functions from human resources management to finance, IT, building, event technology, and event organization.
Andreas Förster, born in 1966, studied chemistry at the University of Würzburg, Germany, and received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the same university in 1997. In the same year, he joined DECHEMA. He has held various positions, most recently he was Deputy Executive Director of DECHEMA. Since 2009, Förster has also been Managing Director of ProcessNet, the German platform for process engineering, chemical engineering, and technical chemistry, a joint initiative of DECHEMA and VDI-GVC. He is the coordinator of the National Technology Platform SusChem Germany.
Kathrin Rübberdt studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig, Germany, and received her Ph.D. from the Georg-August University of Göttingen, Germany, in 2001. She also studied economics at the Fernuniversität Hagen, Germany. After her Ph.D., she worked in management consulting for several years. Since 2008, she is Head of the Biotechnology Department and Head of Communications at DECHEMA.
- DECHEMA Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e. V. (Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Also of Interest
- 60th Birthday: Kurt Wagemann,
ChemistryViews 2019. - Interview with Kurt Wagemann – Executive Director of DECHEMA,
Vera Köster, Kurt Wagemann & Pictures by Wolfgang Sieß,
ChemistryViews 2011.
https://doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201000139
Professor Kurt Wagemann on future changes of chemical engineering, biotechnology, the DECHEMA, and the best parts of his job
