Evonik announced that CEO Klaus Engel to step down on 23 May 2017. The company announced that the executive committee of its supervisory board has proposed an 'amicable premature termination' of Engel's contract, effective from the end of the company's annual meeting on 23 May 2017. Engel's contract was due to expire in 2018.

Christian Kullmann has been named as Engel's successor. Kullmann is currently deputy chairman of Evonik's executive board. Harald Schwager will take over as deputy chairman of the executive board, effective 1 September.

Schwager is a member of BASF's executive board, with responsibility for construction chemicals, crop protection and bioscience research. The company also announced that the contract of chief operating officer (COO) Ralph Sven Kaufmann would be amicably dissolved prematurely, effective 30 June. The COO role will not be refilled.