CEO Schreier Leaving Heidelberger Druckmaschinen

HEIDELBERG, GERMANY—Heidelberger Druckmaschinen announced that CEO Bernhard Schreier will not be extending his management contract with the company and will step down at year's end following nearly 13 years as CEO of the press manufacturer. Dr. Gerold Linzbach will become CEO effective Sept. 1.

Heidelberg has implemented several initiatives to help it return to sustained profitable growth. Backed by a strong performance at drupa this past May, Heidelberg's first fiscal quarter yielded the most incoming orders in four years.

Both the company’s supervisory board and Schreier himself feel now is the right time to make the change in order to create new impetus at the very top of the company. Dr. Linzbach, 56, was unanimously approved by the board.

“I would like to thank Bernhard Schreier for his achievements as Heidelberg CEO,” said Robert Koehler, chairman of the supervisory board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen. “In a career spanning a total of 37 years, 13 of them as CEO, he has truly made his mark on the company and has succeeded in guiding it through two major global economic crises and structural upheaval in the printing industry. Particularly in very difficult recent times, he has helped transform Heidelberg from a traditional press manufacturer into a solution and service provider in the print media industry.

“Heidelberg is a global market leader and is renowned worldwide for its cutting-edge technology and customer proximity. In Dr. Gerold Linzbach, we are delighted to have found a successor with international experience to press ahead with the company’s strategic reorientation and ensure its return to profitability. Dr. Linzbach has many years of management and capital market expertise, which will help pave the way for a successful future at Heidelberg,” Koehler added.

Dr. Linzbach has a degree in chemistry and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Dortmund. He served as head of a research group at the DECHEMA Institute in Frankfurt, then joined McKinsey in 1988 where he was in charge of a variety of projects, primarily in the process industry. In 1991, he became a member of Hoechst AG’s corporate planning team.

In 1999, Dr. Linzbach played a leading role in founding Aventis and went on to become global CEO and president of the Celanese Acetate Group based in the United States until 2003. From 2003 to 2005, he was responsible for the textile fibers division INVISTA, also in the United States.

In March of 2005, Dr. Linzbach was appointed chairman and CEO of Symrise AG in Holzminden, Germany. He was later appointed CEO and member of the management board of D+S Europe and its successor companies in Hamburg.