COOLING-OFF
“See you again,
Hagen Duenbostel!”
Hagen Duenbostel has shaped KWS for almost a quarter of a century. He will return to take up a new position in two years’ time.
A captain is taking a break: The long-planned handover of the position of Spokesperson of the Executive Board to Felix Büchting at the end of the year will be followed by a two-year cooling-off period for Hagen Duenbostel. After that period, which is prescribed by law, he will assume the office of Chairperson of the Supervisory Board. Philip von dem Bussche, former Spokesperson of KWS’ Executive Board, will chair the Supervisory Board during Hagen Duenbostel’s two-year timeout. The long-term orientation of KWS’ top decision-making bodies is thus ensured.
Unique solidarity in a time of field occupations: Philip von dem Bussche and Hagen Duenbostel invited support for the open-air trial at Northeim at an extraordinary all hands meeting on April 29, 2008. Shortly afterwards, 450 colleagues drove out to the field to join the unit’s employees, who were thus able to sow genetically modified sugarbeet.
Doctor of Economics, awarded by the Georg August University in Göttingen on July 28, 1998.
The board rocks: Greenhouse Jungle Party in spring 2010 to mark the inauguration of the LEO greenhouse.
The KWS dragon boat plows through the water – a true demonstration of team spirit!
Since joining the company in 1998, Hagen Duenbostel has shaped KWS’ successful development. In 2001, he took over as Managing Director of KWS MAIS GMBH and was appointed to the Executive Board of KWS in 2003. Hagen Duenbostel has been Spokesperson of KWS’ Executive Board since January 2015. He was most recently responsible for Corn China/Asia and North America as well as Corporate Strategy. He is not only an excellent businessman and expert number cruncher, but has also internalized the “soul” of KWS: Hagen Duenbostel has exemplified KWS’ family values every single day and has been tireless in helping to spread them throughout the company. Thinking in terms of generations, continuing our profitable growth and always ensuring KWS’ independence – Hagen Duenbostel has achieved all that with flying colors. Working in close collaboration with the other Executive Board members, he has defined the guidelines for our activities. Time and again, he has shown how all colleagues at the KWS Group contribute to our success story with their daily work.
December 2014: Hagen Duenbostel succeeds Philip von dem Bussche as Spokesperson of the Executive Board.
Felix Büchting joins KWS’ Executive Board in January 2019. In an interview for insideKWS, Hagen Duenbostel and Felix Büchting emphasize the importance of family values and independence for KWS’ success.
Ready for the cooling-off period: Hagen Duenbostel will return to KWS as Chairperson of the Supervisory Board after two years.
Hagen Duenbostel and Christoph Amberger during the farewell ceremony for their fellow Executive Board member Christopher Ahrens.
Heartfelt attachment: Hagen Duenbostel and Andreas J. Büchting.
Although he himself is not a farmer, Hagen Duenbostel always saw himself and the company as partners to farmers who – much like KWS itself – run their farms independently. Driven by this principle, KWS develops, produces and supplies the seed that our customers around the world need for their own success. With its product range, KWS is at the very beginning of the food value chain. Hagen Duenbostel has always been aware of the responsibility this entails and has laid the foundations to enable KWS to keep on making an important contribution to supporting sustainable agriculture and supplying people with food in the future, too.
For these achievements we say from the bottom of our hearts:
Thank you and see you soon, HD! |
Our Supervisory Board (from left to right): Eric Gombert, Victor W. Balli, Dr. Marie Th. Schnell, Christine Coenen, Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Stefan W. Hell and Philip Freiherr von dem Bussche (Chairperson)
Changes
Two new members on the Supervisory Board
Philip Freiherr von dem Bussche was born in Bad Essen, Germany, in 1950. After completing his agricultural training, he studied general business administration in Bonn and Cologne from 1971 to 1975, gaining his degree in this field. Since 1975 Philip von dem Bussche has been an independent farmer on the Ippenburg estate in the rural district of Osnabrück. In 1991 he expanded his activities to include an arable farm in Kostritz. He served as President of the German Agricultural Society (DLG) from 1997 to 2005. From 2000 to 2005 Philip von dem Bussche was a member of the Supervisory Board of KWS SAAT AG. He joined the Executive Board of KWS SAAT AG in 2005 and was Spokesperson of the Executive Board from 2007 to 2014. |
Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Stefan W. Hell was born in Arad, Romania, in 1962. From 1981 to 1984 he studied and earned a degree in physics in Heidelberg in Germany. In 1990 he gained a doctorate from the University of Heidelberg. That was followed by positions in Heidelberg, Turku in Finland, and Oxford in the UK. In 1996 Stefan Hell he completed his habilitation at the University of Heidelberg. From 2003 to 2017, he was an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Physics at Heidelberg University. Stefan Hell is director at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen and director at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. In 2011 he co-founded abberior GmbH and abberior Instruments GmbH, both of which are headquartered in Göttingen. Stefan Hell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014. |
As of January 1, 2023
Our Executive Board
Felix Büchting
Spokesperson of the Executive Board
- Research & Breeding
- Human Resources
- Group Strategy
- Corporate Office & Services
- Farming
Peter Hofmann
- Sugarbeet
- Vegetables
- Cereals
- Oilseed Rape/Special Crops & Organic Seed
- Marketing & Communications
Eva Kienle
- Finance & Procurement
- Controlling
- Global Transaction Center
- Legal Services & IP
- IT
- Governance, Compliance & Risk Management
Nicolás Wielandt
- Corn Europe
- Corn South America
- Corn North America
- Corn China/Asia
© KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA 2025
