Bayer chair steps down amid Roundup battle
Wenning played crucial role in navigating firm through legal standoff
BERLIN—Bayer AG, in the midst of a major legal battle over its Roundup herbicide, said Chairman Werner Wenning would step down earlier than planned and be replaced by a former PricewaterhouseCoopers executive and relative newcomer to the German company.
Bayer said Mr. Wenning, 73 years old, would step down at this year’s annual shareholders meeting on April 28 and shareholders would be asked to vote on the appointment of his successor, Norbert Winkel-johann, who joined the company’s board in 2018.
Mr. Wenning was a former Bayer chief executive, a mentor of CEO Werner Baumann and a champion of the 2018 acquisition of U.S. agricultural giant Monsanto that tipped Bayer into one of its worst crises in its 156-year history. He had been chairman since 2012 and his mandate was originally set to run until 2022.
The surprise replacement of a company veteran of over 50 years comes as the chemicals and pharmaceutical company is under pressure to resolve a high-stakes legal battle over the world’s most popular weedkiller, which thousands of Americans allege causes cancer.
Bayer inherited the legal fight when it bought Monsanto in a $63 billion acquisition that Mr. Wenning backed and even helped negotiate together with Mr. Baumann.
Mr. Wenning has also played a crucial role in navigating Bayer through the legal standoff with more than 42,000 plaintiffs. He is a member of the supervisory board’s glyphosate litigation committee and almost all other board committees. People familiar with Bayer have always described him as being very involved in all aspects of the business. In a statement, Mr. Wenning said he had intended to retire last year but was asked by the group’s supervisory board to stay given “the company’s situation at the time,” which he accepted.
Bayer lost more than a third of its market value at the peak of the crisis last year after the company lost three California jury trials and the number of plaintiffs rose sharply as a consequence. Bayer argues Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate are safe when used as directed and appealed all three verdicts. Its share price has since recovered some of its losses and were trading broadly flat Wednesday.
Mr. Wenning said now was a good time for him to retire as the company was making progress on all its various front lines—from managing the legal battle to integrating Monsanto and restructuring its other businesses.
“We have made and continue to make progress in handling the legal issues in the U.S. That’s why now is a good time to hand over to my successor,” Mr. Wenning said in a statement.
Bayer is currently in settlement talks with U.S. plaintiff attorneys and investors expect the company to soon find a solution that can put to rest an issue that continues to weigh on its share price.
Mr. Winkel-johann, 62, joined Bayer’s supervisory board in May 2018. A trained accountant, he led PricewaterhouseCoopers’s European business from 2010 and 2018.
Oliver Zühlke, vice chairman of the supervisory board, said since joining Bayer Mr. Winkel-johann had worked diligently to familiarize himself with the group’s structures and businesses. Mr. Wenning said he was pleased Bayer had chosen in Mr. Winkel-johann a leader who could “guide Bayer into its next chapter as a leading and focused life science company.”