Kumpf, Bob

In addition to serving as chief administrative officer for Pittsburgh-based Bayer MaterialScience LLC, Bob Kumpf also is a member of the BMS North America leadership team with responsibility for regional business support and administration, as well as the health, safety, environment organization, new business, and materials characterization.

In this role, Kumpf works to ensure the efficient and effective supply of all administration services, including the controlling and planning functions; procurement; organization and information systems; internal and external communications; and central innovation services.

He is an active member of the BMS Corporate Compliance/Risk Management Committee. He also is the co-lead of the BMS Nafta Sustainability Community Council, which fosters sustainable development initiatives across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Kumpf has held research, product development and technical marketing positions in various Bayer business units and in central research, including two expatriate assignments in Germany. In his most recent position as vice president of future business, he led the BMS group responsible for developing the materials of the future by focusing on innovation-driven polymer products, next-generation application trends and new complex technologies.

Kumpf joined Bayer (www.bayermaterialscience.com) in 1988 as a research chemist after graduating with a doctorate degree from PennsylvaniaStateUniversity's materials science and engineering department. He currently holds 20 U.S. and European patents and has published 21 articles in various scientific journals.

He is active in various nonprofit organizations and since 2006 has served as chairman of the PennsylvaniaNanomaterialsCommercializationCenter board of directors. In addition, he is a member of the Pennsylvania State University Material Science & Engineering Advisory Board, the National Board of the Industrial Research Institute, and the Carnegie Science Center Sci Tech Initiative Advisory Board.