Covestro appoints Andrea Maier-Richter as Head of Coatings & Adhesives
The appointment takes effect on 1 October 2026.
GERMANY – Covestro, a German company producing polyurethane and polycarbonate raw materials, has appointed Dr. Andrea Maier-Richter as Executive Vice President and Head of its Coatings & Adhesives business unit.
She succeeds Thomas Römer, who is moving to lead the Performance Materials business unit.
In her new position, Maier-Richter will lead the Coatings & Adhesives unit and focus on strengthening its established business while pursuing growth through innovation, partnerships, and value creation for both customers and Covestro.
She brings more than 25 years of international leadership experience gained at Bayer and Covestro.
Her background spans corporate strategy, technology, innovation, marketing, and sales.
Maier-Richter began her career in 1999 as a chemical engineer in Bayer’s Central Technology department.
Until 2015, she held several senior regional and global positions at Bayer AG and Bayer MaterialScience AG.
After Covestro’s initial public offering in 2015, she became Senior Vice President and led the polyurethane business in the Asia-Pacific region, based in Hong Kong.
In 2019, she established Covestro’s central marketing function and became the company’s first Chief Marketing Officer.
In July 2021, she took over the Thermoplastic Polyurethanes (TPU) business unit, where she led global operations until her latest appointment.
Over the course of her career, Maier-Richter has held leadership roles across Asia, North America, and Europe.
Her experience combines technology, market development, and strategic business development.
She holds a doctorate from the University of Duisburg-Essen and is a trained chemical engineer.
In leading Coatings & Adhesives, Maier-Richter is expected to build on the unit’s existing strengths, expand its business, and identify sustainable growth opportunities through innovation and collaborative partnerships.
Meanwhile, Thomas Römer will assume the role of Executive Vice President and Head of the Performance Materials business unit.
This appointment comes shortly after Covestro completed the leadership transition it announced in March by appointing Arturo Molina as Managing Director of Covestro in Spain, effective 1 October 2026.
Molina will continue to serve as site manager of the Tarragona plant while overseeing the company’s operations across Spain.
Molina succeeds Andrea Firenze and will manage Covestro’s activities at its four Spanish production sites: Tarragona, Barcelona, Parets del Vallès, and Santa Margarida i els Monjos.
The company employs more than 500 people across these locations.
He has been site manager of the Tarragona plant since 1 August 2026.
In his expanded role, he will be responsible for strengthening Covestro’s competitiveness in Spain, advancing its sustainability agenda, and continuing to create value for customers and society.
Molina is a chemical engineer and graduate of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
He joined Covestro in 2017 and brings substantial international experience in industrial management, team leadership, and operations.
From 2019 until relocating to Spain, he served as Managing Director of Covestro in Mexico and as site manager of the Santa Clara plant.
Andrea Firenze joined Covestro in January 2015 as head of the Tarragona plant and became Managing Director for Spain a year later.
During his decade in leadership, he oversaw a period of growth and consolidation across the company’s Spanish operations.
Key achievements during his tenure included the construction of a new chlorine plant in Tarragona, the development of a distillation plant at Covestro Barcelona, and the integration of the Santa Margarida i els Monjos and Parets del Vallès sites.
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