Dr. Dirk Voeste is Chief Sustainability Officer of Volkswagen Group. Being in this position since April 1st, 2023, he together with his team is responsible for the sustainability & ESG strategy development and its implementation into the Group stakeholder relationships. 

In 1994 Dirk graduated with a Ph.D. in biology from University Bonn in Germany and a M.Phil. from the Cranfield Institute of Technology in England. After his studies he was the scientist responsible for three space flight experiments in cooperation with NASA, USA. Since 1998 he has held various positions in the field of biotechnology, breeding and crop protection. Dirk joined BASF SE in 2001, where he held responsibilities in research as well as in global marketing functions. Among others he was Head of Sustainability and Product Stewardship for the Crop Protection Division. 

In 2012 Dirk Voeste has taken the lead of BASFs corporate sustainability strategy, as a Vice President of Sustainability Strategy, being in charge of the strategy implementation into all business activities and decision-making processes as well as of sustainability stakeholder relation management. Since 2019 Dirk acted as Senior Vice President of Regulatory, Public Affairs & Sustainability for BASFs Agriculture Solution Division. He held global responsibility for regulatory affairs and science, public affairs, compliance management, product stewardship and sustainability of BASF’s Agricultural Solutions.