People and agriculture – those two passions shaped Philip von dem Bussche’s life. Anyone who was fortunate enough to accompany him part of the way, whether privately or professionally, will remember him vividly as an outstanding and influential personality. He was open-minded and tolerant, clever and grounded, attentive and goal-oriented, inspiring and humorous – to name just a few of the traits of his multifaceted character.

Growing up in a family dating back 800 years, Philip von dem Bussche initially took care of the family farm in Ippenburg from 1976 after completing his agricultural training and studying business management. One challenge for him was to preserve the neo-Gothic family seat, a huge sandstone castle, in the 22nd generation of the family and to cover the high costs from the relatively meager income from farming. His nature-loving wife Viktoria also played a significant role in that: With the ingenious design of the Ippenburg gardens, the “Green Baroness” invited thousands of visitors to her unique gardens year after year, while her husband was happy to act as a parking lot attendant from time to time.

Away from Ippenburg, the agricultural entrepreneur, who ran a second farm in Krostitz near Leipzig after 1989 and set up an innovative rolled turf production enterprise there, also pursued other callings: as an influential President of the German Agricultural Society (DLG) and as an active member of the Supervisory Board of various companies in the agricultural sector (such as K+S Aktiengesellschaft and the Krone Group).

In 2000, Andreas J. Büchting (AB) managed to recruit his longtime friend Philip to the Supervisory Board of KWS during a difficult time for KWS. But sweet things can be sticky, as we all know, and Philip von dem Bussche moved from the Supervisory Board to the Executive Board of KWS in 2005. In 2008, he succeeded AB as its Spokesperson. Many KWS employees will never forget the generous invitations to Ippenburg: Deeply impressed by the enormous reception hall, whole busloads listened to the addresses by their CEO, who never tired of emphasizing that he belonged to the poor branch of the family. In fact, there were still some roofs that needed weatherproofing at the time – a task he mastered with persuasive long-term planning.

Philip von dem Bussche stepped down from the Executive Board as planned in 2014. However, at the request of the Büchting and Arend Oetker shareholder families, he made himself available again in December 2022 to serve for a limited term on the Supervisory Boards of KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA and its personally liable partner, KWS SE. Both bodies elected him – again as successor to AB – as their Chairperson.

Then came a shattering diagnosis in August 2023. Philip von dem Bussche immediately laid down all his offices – except for one. With an exemplary attitude, he held on to everything that was important to him. Fortunately, this included his KWS in addition to his family. At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in December 2023, he briefly and succinctly informed participants about the status of his illness. Yet that did not deter him from going on to report to the shareholders in detail about the Supervisory Board’s activities. In the new year, he continued to drive strategic developments at KWS together with the Executive Board. After spending Easter with his large family, his strength then deserted him. Full of confidence and convinced that KWS was on the right track, he bought KWS shares in his final days.

On April 8, 2024, his family lost a devoted husband, father and grandfather, KWS lost a magnificent entrepreneur and person, and German agriculture lost an outstanding personality. |