The two leading German press manufacturers are making changes at the most senior level, with Koenig & Bauer announcing a new CEO and Heidelberg that its CFO is leaving the business.
Koenig & Bauer has already announced that its executive board would be slimmed to only two spaces. but not previously that Andreas Pleßke would not be filling one of those. He is to relinquish the CEO role at the company’s AGM on 4 June, carrying out “special duties” in a non specific executive role. The company explains that this is due to his age and is in line with previous changes. Pleßke was appointed CEO in 2021 after then CEO Claus Bolza Schünemann reached the company’s retirement age. Pleßke has been due to retire at the end of this year.
The new CEO will be Stephen Kimmich who has been CFO and most recently deputy CEO as well. Alexander Blum will joined Koenig & Bauer as CFO from 1 July.
The company had already agreed the other changes: Christoph Müller stepping down from COO and Ralf Sammeck heading offset presses from his position due to retirement This has included a division into a special and new technologies division and paper and packaging sheetfed systems division.
Pleßke’s announcement will have caught the Drupa organisation by surprise. Only in February he confirmed that he would continue to head the Drupa committee as it prepares for the show in 2028.
Over at Heidelberg Tania von der Goltz has told the company’s board that she will not continue beyond her current contract. This expires at the end of March and the closure of Heidelberg’s financial year.
She joined Heidelberg in January 2023, following Ludwin Monz from Carl Zeiss Meditec to Heidelberg. He stepped down in June last year.
Until a replacement is found, and there seems to be no urgency to this, CEO Jurgen Otto will fill the financial role alongside David Schmedding as chief sales and technology officer.
A further departure from Heidelberg is Gernot Keller who after 40 years with the company is starting out as a freelance visual artist and photographer. Keller spent five years in Brentford as product manager and sales support for B1 sheetfed products.
