Managing Board to be strengthened

Heimenkirch. Changes are ahead of the Hochland SE Managing Board: The growth of the international Hochland Group as well as the ambitious Vision 2025 require strengthening of the Managing Board. In future, a four-man team will lead the Holding of the Allgäu based cheese manufacturer.

With effect from 1 January 2022, Josef Stitzl (51), will be appointed COO and will take over responsibility for the production plants, for purchasing, logistics and sustainability. He is a mechanical engineer and has been a “Hochlander” for 15 years. Since 2012, he has been General Manager of Hochland Deutschland GmbH.

Josef Stitzl joined Hochland in 2006 as Division Manager for the international coordination of the Hochland plants. He is married and has two daughters.

Also as of 1 January 2022, Sebastian Schaeffer will be appointed to the Hochland Managing Board as CCO. He is successor to the long-serving Board member Thomas Brunner, responsible for Marketing & Sales and for Product Development. Thomas Brunner will withdraw into private life by the end of the year.

Sebastian Schaeffer (47) is moving from the Swiss Hero AG to the Allgäu based cheese manufacturer. He is a legal expert with long-standing marketing and management experience in the FMCG sector. He held different functions within the Hero Group, among others CEO of Schwartau Werke GmbH & Co. KGaA, before being appointed 2018 General Manager of the Northern Europe Cluster, with responsibility for the Benelux countries, UK, Nordics and the Baltic states and, in dual employment, CEO of the Semper AB in Stockholm with subsidiaries in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

Sebastian Schaeffer is born in Hamburg. He is married and has three children.

Thomas Brunner (60) has been with Hochland since 2007. He was General Manager of Hochland Deutschland GmbH before being appointed to the Hochland Managing Board in 2012.

On the occasion of the new appointments and strengthening of the Managing Board, the responsibilities will be partly reorganised: Peter Stahl (54) will remain CEO, responsible for strategic topics, Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Communication. Hubert Staub (57) will be in charge of the Financial Department, Human Resources, IT and New Business Development (vegan). Both of them have been with Hochland for a long time, Peter Stahl for 27 years and Hubert Staub for 28 years, and remain with the family business: Their contracts have recently been extended.

Here you will find the press release for download.