COLOGNE, Germany—The United Kingdom's possible exit from the European Union—so-called Brexit—following a referendum in June would be “completely stupid,” according to Covestro CEO Patrick Thomas.
Speaking at the group's first financial results news conference in Cologne this week, the British-born Thomas said: “In terms of Brexit, I guess I'm with the 99 out of 100 FTSE (Group) CEOs in believing an exit from Europe would be completely stupid—I think that's probably the right word. It's a strong word but it's true.
“Everybody says 99 out of 100 FTSE CEOs believe that to be the case, but no one will tell you which one is pro-Brexit. I haven't managed to find out yet, but I guess his business is entirely in the U.K. and is not on an international basis.”
Thomas has headed the polyurethanes and polycarbonates unit, previously Bayer MaterialScience, for 10 years, and led its spinoff from Bayer Group and its addition to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in October 2015.
He is also president of Brussels-based trade organization PlasticsEurope, and he was a non-executive director at the oil and gas company BG Group until its recent takeover by Shell.