Our alumnus Dr Rainier van Roessel (class of 1984) studied Business Administration at the WiSo Faculty and received his doctorate here in 1988. His career path led him directly to Bayer AG, where he worked as an internal consultant in the field of corporate organization before moving to the Strategic Planning division in 1993. He then held a number of management positions within the Bayer Group, including in the newly created Bayer Polymers subgroup from 2002. When parts of the polymers division were spun off to form Lanxess, he took over as Head of the Rubber Chemicals Business Unit in 2004 and as managing director of Lanxess N.V. in Antwerp in 2006. From 2007 until his retirement in December 2019, Rainier van Roessel was a member of the board and Labor Director of Lanxess AG. In 2022, he was then appointed to the Lanxess Supervisory Board and elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board in May 2024. Since 2020, he has also been a lecturer at the Department of Supply Chain Management & Management Science at the WiSo Faculty. In the alumni interview, we talked about the importance of teamwork as a key to success, exceptional ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities, and the valuable financial and non-material support that the Deutschlandstipendium provides to students. 

Dear Dr van Roessel, after graduating from the WiSo Faculty, you initially worked for four years at the Seminar for General Business Administration and Organizational Theory, where you completed your doctorate in 1988. You then joined Bayer as an internal consultant. How did you feel about the transition from academic work to industry? What experiences from your studies and your time at the seminar were you able to bring to Bayer?

At the seminar, I worked on various scientific topics and projects, both large and small. My biggest project was my own dissertation. At the university, systematic, structured and targeted work was crucial for achieving interesting and good results. I was able to build on these experiences when I entered industry, which not only made my entry easier, but also quickly gave me the feeling that I could contribute to solving problems and further developing processes and structures.

You remained loyal to Bayer AG and then also to Lanxess for many years, were a member of the Lanxess Board of Management and are now Chairman of the Supervisory Board there. What aspects motivated you to remain closely associated with these companies over the decades?

For me as a young professional, Bayer was an exciting company in every respect: The products, especially the broad range, the size and particularly the internationality persuaded me to join Bayer at the time. I was positively surprised by the opportunities available to me as a newcomer: they were much broader than I had initially suspected. I got to know many interesting areas of the company. Particularly motivating for me was that chemical companies thrive on teamwork. In my different roles and responsibilities, working in a team has made all the difference. Working in a team is more enjoyable and leads to more creative solutions, but also enables strong implementation with corresponding results. My biggest challenge was the spin-off of Lanxess from the Bayer Group and the development of a new, future-oriented company. I was happy to take the opportunity to participate in this process and to take on responsibility ‘at the birth’ of a new company, so to speak, in 2004. This was a so-called ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity. Not least because of the people, by the way: to this day, Lanxess still has a special team spirit. Building the company, constantly tackling new challenges such as economic crises, market changes, M&A measures, sustainability, digitalisation, corporate culture or employer attractiveness – all this really brought us all close together. This applies at all levels, because an essential prerequisite for the dynamic change processes is the involvement of employees. As Labor Director, I had a special responsibility in this resepect that also motivated me a great deal. Lanxess is an interesting company, which is celebrating its 20th birthday this month, and I am still very enthusiastic about it.

During your time on the Board of Management and as Labor Director, Lanxess has sponsored numerous Deutschlandstipendium scholarships, providing both non-material and financial support to students at the WiSo and the University of Cologne. Today, you are also a private sponsor of the Deutschlandstipendium and remain very involved. What does the Deutschlandstipendium mean to you and why do you think this commitment is important?

Education is crucial for the future of our society and, of course, our economy. The Deutschlandstipendium is a good way to give talented and motivated students greater financial leeway for their studies and to provide a network for exchanging ideas.

Are there professional or personal experiences that influenced your decision to get involved in scholarship funding?

For Lanxess, for example, a high level of qualification of ist employees in STEM subjects as well as in the commercial sector is a decisive competitive factor. This applies from operations to product and process development, digitalization and strategy development and management. In an ageing society, I believe we need to focus more on young people and not the other way around.

Not only do you provide financial support, you also seek direct contact with the scholarship holders in order to support them in their professional and personal development through personal dialogue. Do you yourself also gain something from these conversations?

As I am no longer fully active in professional life, personal exchanges with younger people are particularly important to me. This gives me the younger generation's perspective on many social issues.

What is the most important message for your scholarship holders and what would you also like to pass on to our current students?

Stay interested, even curious, and willing to work hard. Use the opportunities offered by the scholarship to create a broad, science-based foundation for yourself. Get involved and take responsibility for yourself and our liberal economic and social order.

Finally, could you please complete the following sentence: When I think back to my student days in Cologne, I think…

… of a very good time in Cologne with many new friendships, intensive discussions, laborious exam preparations and numerous activities on a limited budget.

Dr van Roessel, thank you very much for your time and for this interview.