Einbeck, April 10, 2024

KWS mourns the loss of Philip Freiherr von dem Bussche

KWS mourns the loss of our Chairman of the Supervisory Board and long-time companion Philip Freiherr von dem Bussche. He passed away on April 8, 2024 after a serious illness at the age of 74.

Dr. Drs. h.c. Andreas J. Büchting, Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA and KWS SE: "We are deeply saddened by the death of Philip von dem Bussche. We extend our deepest sympathy to his family. Philip von dem Bussche will be vividly remembered as an impressive personality. Until the end, he expressed his strong attachment to KWS and carried out his mandates with dedication until his death. His attitude as a family entrepreneur, his expertise, his reliable and pragmatic actions and, above all, his approachability and his appreciative manner were highly valued by all sides and made him a central figure of identification in our company."

As a trained farmer and graduate in business administration, he dedicated his life to agriculture in various positions and functions and became an outstanding protagonist of German agriculture. He has also shaped the development of KWS for 25 years. He was a member of the Supervisory Board of KWS from 2000 to 2005 before moving to the Executive Board from 2005 to 2014, where he also assumed the position of Spokesman from 2008. Most recently, at the end of 2022, when Andreas Büchting resigned from his positions, Philip von dem Bussche returned to the company as Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA and KWS SE at the request of the Büchting and Arend Oetker shareholder families.

About KWS

KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies. Over 5,000 employees* in more than 70 countries generated net sales of around €1,8 billion in the fiscal year 2022/2023. A company with a tradition of family ownership, KWS has operated independently for 165 years. It focuses on plant breeding and the production and sale of seed for corn, sugarbeet, cereals, vegetables, oilseed rape and sunflower. KWS uses leading-edge plant breeding methods to continuously improve yield for farmers and plants’ resistance to diseases, pests and abiotic stress. To that end, the company invested more than €300 million last fiscal year in research and development.
*excl. seasonal workforce

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Sina Barnkothe-Seekamp 

Lead of External Communications 

Mobile +49 (0) 151 18855820 

KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA

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