Darren Budd was born in Taplow, United Kingdom, in 1967. Darren studied Chemistry at Kingston University, United Kingdom, and then went on to do his doctorate on Transition Metal Complexation of Conducting Polymers. Darren has worked for BASF for the last 24 years and has held a number of positions within the company including having worked in Germany for BASF’s Venture Capital Business for 5 years. Since 1^st Jan 2016, Darren has been Commercial Director for BASF Plc. This role is responsible for the Chemical Sales activities of BASF in the UK as well as the Commercial activities of BASF in the UK to develop growth. In addition to this Darren is part of BASF’s Academic Partnership development team Darren represents BASF on the board of two trade associations; Chemical Business Association (CBA – Currently Chairperson) and the British Coatings Federation (BCF).  In addition, he is an Executive Member of the IBioIC in Glasgow and a Board member of the Science and Technology Facilities Council – Industry and Business board. Outside of work Darren is Chair of Governors for a local Primary Academy in Wilmslow and in his spare time is a keen Golfer.