As planned, Thomas Wagner will become deputy as the COO

With effect from November 1, 2021, Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer (47) will become the Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman of the Group Executive Board of the ebm‑papst Group with its headquarters in Mulfingen (Baden-Württemberg). The technological leader for fans and motors (EUR 2.129 bln in sales/15,000 employees) is welcoming an executive with corporate and transformation experience to successfully further develop the family company with a future-orientated approach and to introduce the next generation of management.

Thomas Wagner (62) is taking over as deputy again, as planned in advance, after having led the company in the interim. He will support Dr. Geißdörfer in his induction and provide active support for the ongoing strategy and transformation process in his role as COO.

Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer has many years of international experience in top management positions at prominent companies. Most recently, he was managing director at ONE LOGIC, a leading company in data science and artificial intelligence. From 2016 to 2020, he was in charge of the global industrial arm of technology company ZF Friedrichshafen AG as the head of the industrial technology division. Before that, Geißdörfer worked in various management positions for the automotive and industry supplier Schaeffler for over 13 years, including as a member of the industrial management board and as chairman of the industrial applications division.

With Dr. Geißdörfer, the company is introducing a generational change at the top of the company and wants to use his expertise to continue to drive the digitalization and globalization process forward.

Dr. Ludger Laufenberg, Chairman of the Advisory Board, says,
“With Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer, we are bringing an experienced executive with a strong technological focus into the Group. He is an expert in digitalization and globalization. Both of these topics are relevant to ebm‑papst's future. He will lead the company sustainably and guide it to continued success in the future. The shareholders, Advisory Board and Group Executive Board wish Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer much success in his pioneering tasks."

Mr. Thomas Wagner has been a key pillar in the Group’s top management for 37 years. We are extremely grateful that, as planned, he led the company in the interim during the selection process and is going to continue working for ebm‑papst as COO and deputy.”

Thomas Wagner, future deputy and COO, says,
“Simply because of my age, I was very happy to support the plan of taking on the CEO role in the interim until a successor had been found for the years to come. This allowed the necessary scope to provide strong leadership for the company. I am looking forward to working with Dr. Geißdörfer, an extremely experienced executive in our future fields.”

Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer, designated Chief Executive Officer, says, “ebm‑papst is a company based on people and values. As a technological leader, it has an excellent reputation around the world.
With ebm‑papst neo as a digitalization start-up and with its “local for local” internationalization strategy, ebm‑papst is in the midst of a process of transformation. I am looking forward to my exciting job as CEO, which will involve actively leading the ebm‑papst Group into the future together with the Advisory Board, Management and all employees, and tackling upcoming challenges.”

Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer's résumé

Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer studied chemical engineering with an emphasis on process technology at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg and completed his doctorate at EBS on “Total Cost of Ownership”. After completing his Masters of Business Administration at INSEAD in Fontainebleau and working for Siemens AG and Parsytec, Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer became an assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of the Schaeffler Group in 2002. He worked for the automotive and industry supplier Schaeffler in various management positions for over 13 years, including as a member of the industrial management board. In 2016, Geißdörfer moved to ZF Friedrichshafen AG in Passau and was in charge of the global industrial arm of the technology company as head of the industrial technology division. In 2021, he became managing director of ONE LOGIC, a leading company in data science and artificial intelligence, where he most recently completed the series B financing round and continues to sit on the Advisory Board.