Dr Rüdiger Pipke, for many years the head of the Hazardous Substances and Biological Agents Division, has been entrusted with the business of the vice president in addition to his previous duties.
A biologist who gained his PhD at the Ruhr University Bochum, Dr Pipke has worked in various capacities at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) since 1992 and took charge of the Hazardous Substances and Biological Agents Division in 2008. Dr Pipke will assume the vice president’s diverse internal and external leadership responsibilities until the conclusion of the regular appointment procedure that is being conducted.
The post was created in 2020 against the background of the broad, ambitious portfolio of tasks performed by BAuA and its approximately 800 employees. Dr Beate Beermann, the first vice president, displayed tremendous commitment and energy in shaping and firmly establishing this role until her retirement in May 2023. Dr Beermann, who holds a PhD in psychology and specialises in work and organisational psychology, has been active for more than thirty years in a variety of positions in the field of occupational safety and health.
A recruitment committee made up of eminent figures from the scientific community, the German employers’ associations and trade unions, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), and BAuA is currently supervising the appointment of a new vice president.