Michelle Jou, a native of Taiwan, took over as head of Covestro's Polycarbonates Segment effective Jan. 1.
The company said Jou is the first woman to hold this position.
Jou has more than two decades of experience in the chemistry industry in Asia, serving in a variety of positions in sales, marketing and supply chain management. Before joining Bayer MaterialScience in 2003, she worked for a leading French petrochemicals company in Hong Kong and Shanghai for about 10 years.
She was named head of commercial operations in Asia for BMS' polycarbonates business unit in 2012.
Jou hold a bachelor's degree from Fu-Jen University in Taiwan and a master's degree from the Emlyon Business School in France.
BMS has operated under the name of Covestro since Sept. 1. BMS relocated its global headquarters of polycarbonates to Shanghai in 2011, as the primary markets for thermoplastics are in Asia.