I was no stranger to the tensions at Bayer when I joined as CEO last June. Multiple complex challenges face our business. There’s the ongoing–and unjustified–litigation around glyphosate, an essential herbicide that environmental regulators in every major country have assessed as safe. We have a high debt, and we are experiencing the loss of patents on some of our most important medicines.
We’re at a crossroads in our 160-year history. Bayer has a portfolio of strong and meaningful businesses in health and nutrition–but the problems outlined above are real. They’ve come to a head in my first year with the company. Adverse jury decisions and a pipeline setback have sent the share price to a nearly 20-year low.
