Bayer announced today that Guru Ramamurthy will become the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Bayer’s Crop Science division. He will succeed Oliver Rittgen who has decided to pursue a career opportunity outside of Bayer after 25 years with the company. In his current role, Guru Ramamurthy is serving as CFO of Bayer US. The change will become effective as of July 1, 2025. With over 20 years of experience at Bayer, Ramamurthy brings extensive financial expertise and a proven track record in driving transformation and business growth.
Since joining Bayer in 2001, Ramamurthy has held various finance leadership roles across multiple business segments and geographies. Prior to being appointed as the CFO of Bayer US, he served as CFO of AskBio, Bayer’s wholly owned and independently operated gene therapy company. Previously, he was the Global CFO of Bayer’s Medical Care division and has held country and regional CFO positions across diverse segments. Over the course of his career, he has held key finance roles in Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.
“Guru has a strong track record of enabling business turnarounds and driving transformation through a holistic business perspective. His ability to shape business strategies to boost profitability and growth to deliver results, while building high-performing finance teams, has made his leadership stand out. His collaborative and innovative approaches have further amplified his impact. I am looking forward to working with him to shape the future success of our business,” said Rodrigo Santos, Member of the Board of Bayer AG and President of the company’s Crop Science Division.
Guru Ramamurthy will be based in St. Louis, MO. The successor for his current role will be announced at a later date.
Oliver Rittgen joined Bayer in 2000 and served in various leadership roles across Finance. Before assuming the position as CFO for the Crop Science division in 2024, he held the CFO role for Bayer’s Consumer Health division. Prior to that, he held several regional CFO and Corporate Finance positions in Germany, Finland, and Thailand.
“Oliver has successfully been driving business performance and transformation across the divisions and has always made it a priority to develop his organization and people at the same time. His innovative and entrepreneurial thinking has helped us to further develop the financial operations of our business. I want to thank him for his valuable contributions and wish him all the best for the future,” added Rodrigo Santos.
