NEW YORK, LONDON – ICIS Chemical Business magazine unveils the ICIS Top 40 Power Players – the most influential people in the global chemical industry. “The chemical industry is ultimately a people industry, and these individuals have changed the face of the global chemical industry – through mergers and acquisitions, policy leadership, innovation and financial performance,” said Joseph Chang, Global Editor of ICIS Chemical Business. BASF chairman and CEO Jurgen Hambrecht takes the top spot in the ICIS Top 40 Power Players in the December 8 issue, with Dow Chemical chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris coming in second and SABIC CEO Mohamed Al-Mady coming in third. “Under Hambrecht’s leadership, the German chemical giant BASF’s stellar growth has continued in 2008, consolidating the company’s position as the world’s largest and possibly, best managed, chemical company,” said Will Beacham, Deputy Editor of ICIS Chemical Business and London Bureau Chief. Hambrecht has taken decisive action in the economic downturn, being amongst the first to announce a series of wide-ranging production cuts to curtail overcapacity, noted Beacham. In addition, he engineered the pending $5bn acquisition of Swiss-based specialty chemical firm Ciba, which is due to close in 2009. Dow CEO Liveris is making his mark with two of the most transformational deals in industry history, said Chang. The company’s K-Dow $15bn in sales commodity chemical joint venture with Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. is set to close by January 1, 2009, and its $19bn acquisition of US specialty chemical firm Rohm and Haas by the first quarter of 2009. Liveris is also taking a leadership role in US energy policy, unveiling “Dow’s Energy plan for America” in November, featuring higher energy efficiency, speeding renewable energy development, boosting oil and gas production, optimizing the carbon efficiency of coal and accelerating use of nuclear energy. The December 8 issue also includes the Top 10 Ones to Watch – the rising stars that will have a big impact on the industry in the future.