By Chen Aizhu
BEIJING, Jan 19 (Reuters) - China National Bluestar (Group) Co. Ltd, a specialty chemicals manufacturer, has appointed ex-Bayer BAYGn.DE executive Michael Keonig as its new CEO, it said on Tuesday in an e-mailed statement.
Koenig was a Bayer board member since 2013 in charge of human resources and technology for Asia and the Middle East. He replaces Robert Lu Xiaobao, becoming the first non-Chinese national to head the firm, said a Bluestar press official.
National Bluestar, a subsidiary of state-owned chemical giant China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina), was established in 1984 by ChemChina's chairman Ren Jianxin and started with making industrial solvents. 2008 Bluestar brought in U.S. private equity firm Blackstone (N:BX) Group BX.M as a strategic investor and in 2011 bought Norway-based silicon maker Elkem ORK.OL for $2 billion.
Koenig, a chemical engineer by training, began his Bayer career in 1990 as a process engineer in Europe. In 2000 he became general manager for Bayer Polymers Shanghai Co. Ltd and later senior country manager for Greater China.