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Changes on AGRANA Management Board – reallocation of board responsibilities

Datum: 31.05.2021

The previously announced succession of CEO Johann Marihart by Markus Mühleisen on 1 June 2021 will also be accompanied by further changes on the Management Board of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG as well as in the general management teams of certain subsidiaries.

After 16 years, Thomas Kölbl will be vacating his post on the Management Board of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG to focus fully on his CFO role at Südzucker AG. He will be succeeded on the AGRANA Management Board by Ingrid-Helen Arnold who has been a board member of Südzucker AG since 1 May 2021. She will be responsible for the area of internal auditing at AGRANA.

In the course of the restructuring and rejuvenation of the AGRANA Management Board, Fritz Gattermayer has also decided after 12 years to step down from the AGRANA Management Board with effect from 31 May 2021.

From 1 June 2021, the Management Board of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG will therefore be made up of four members:

  • CEO Markus Mühleisen
  • CFO Stephan Büttner
  • CTO Norbert Harringer
  • Ingrid-Helen Arnold

With effect from 1 June 2021, Markus Mühleisen will also be appointed to the Management Board of Südzucker AG, in Mannheim, Germany.

In addition to his role as AGRANA CEO, Markus Mühleisen will also be responsible for areas such as sales and human resources as well as the Sugar Division. In connection with this function, he is also being appointed CEO of the Sugar Division to serve alongside Andreas Schröckenstein and Josef Eisenschenk.

In addition to his tasks as CFO, Stephan Büttner will additionally be responsible for areas such as purchasing as well as the Fruit Division. In this function, he will act as the CEO of the Fruit Division and be responsible for finance and sales, serving alongside Benoit Biquet and Michael Frey. Jos Kleppers has decided to pursue his career beyond the AGRANA Group and will be stepping down from his role as CEO of the Fruit Division with effect from 30 June 2021.

In addition to his CTO tasks, Norbert Harringer will also be responsible for areas such as Raw Materials and R&D as well as assuming overall responsibility for the Starch Division. In this role, he will also act as the CEO of the Starch Division, acting alongside Leontine Wratschko and Horst Hartl. The long-serving CEO of the Starch Division, Josef Granner, has decided to step down from his general management position in the Starch Division with effect from 30 June 2021 and to retire.

These restructuring steps will streamline management at AGRANA, align the Management Board to operations and, as a result of the linkage between the AGRANA Management Board and the general management teams of the divisions, facilitate the leveraging of all synergies between the segments and the holding company.

The implementation of the above plans will see the AGRANA Executive Team shrink from 20 to 13 members (Management Board members and general managers of the four divisions), which will lead to additional efficiency in addition to significant cost savings.

We would like to express our sincerest thanks to all those vacating their positions and wish Mrs. Arnold and Misters Mühleisen, Büttner and Harringer every success for the future.

Johann Marihart                                                              Erwin Hameseder
Chief Executive Officer                                                     Chairman of the Supervisory Board
AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG                                                AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG

 

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