Prof. Edith Heard
Member of the Board of Trustees and Director & CEO of Francis Crick Institute
Oversight & Advice
Foundation Governance
Bayer Foundation is guided by two independent Boards of Trustees, bringing together distinguished experts in science, philanthropy, and social impact. Their strategic oversight helps ensure our work delivers meaningful and lasting impact. An additional Science Council selects the winners of our Science Awards and provides advice to the scientific programs.
Board of Trustees for Science (Bayer Science & Education Foundation)
Dr. Monika Lessl
Member of the Board of Trustees, Former Executive Director of Bayer Foundation, former SVP Bayer AG, Non-Executive Board Member of Gubra A/S and Marienhaus GmbH
Dr. Mike Graham
Member of the Board of Trustees, Global Head of Research & Development (R&D) for Bayer Crop Science
Dr. Christian Rommel
Member of the Board of Trustees, Global Head of Research & Development (R&D) for Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Board of Trustees for Social Innovation (Bayer Cares Foundation)
Prof. Dr. André Habisch
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Professor for Business Ethics and Corporate Citizenship at Ingolstadt School of Management (WFI) and Associate Research Director of Academy of Business in Society (ABIS)
Dr. Monika Lessl
Member of the Board of Trustees, Former Executive Director of Bayer Foundation, former SVP Bayer AG, Non-Executive Board Member of Gubra A/S and Marienhaus GmbH
Dr. Michael Preuss
Member of the Board of Trustees, Head of Communications at Bayer AG.
Matthias Berninger
Member of the Board of Trustees, Head of Public Affairs, Sustainability & Safety at Bayer AG.
Science Council
Prof. Claudia Höbartner
Professor at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at University of Würzburg
Prof. Tobias Erb
Director, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
Prof. Paul Schulze-Lefert
Director, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
Prof. Dirk Trauner
Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor at the University of Pennsylvania
Prof. Susan Gasser
Director, Foundation of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer (ISREC)
Prof. Meritxell Huch
Director, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
Prof. Ruth Ley
Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen, Germany
Prof. Pascale Cossart
Professor, Institut Pasteur, France
Our Leadership and Team
Our team brings together experts in science, social innovation and philanthropy — united by a shared commitment to create lasting impact for people and communities worldwide.