DGAP-News: Thomas Toepfer appointed new CFO of the KION Group

2012-07-27 / 13:20:00

Thomas Toepfer appointed new CFO of the KION Group

  • Harald Pinger leaves the KION Group at his own request
  • Nikolaus Michelsen appointed CFO of STILL GmbH

Wiesbaden/Hamburg, 27 July 2012 - The Supervisory Board of KION Group GmbH has appointed Thomas Toepfer (40) as CFO to the KION Group Executive Board for four years with effect from 1 September 2012. Thomas Toepfer succeeds Harald Pinger (52), who is leaving the company on 31 August 2012 at his own request.

Thomas Toepfer, who holds a doctorate in business administration, has been CFO and Labour Relations Director of the KION brand company STILL GmbH since June 2011. In his previous role, he was CFO of Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH. Prior to that he was head of Group Controlling at both Arcandor AG (2005 to 2008) and Hapag Lloyd AG (2004 to 2005), after working as a consultant for the management consultancy firm McKinsey (1999 to 2004).

'Mr Toepfer brings a great deal of financial expertise to the role of CFO of the KION Group,' said Gordon Riske, Chief Executive Officer of the KION Group. 'He has familiarised himself with the material handling industry extremely well over the past year and has earned a high level of trust from the owners, management team and staff. I very much look forward to working with Mr Toepfer and I would like to thank Mr Pinger for his support over the years.'

The Supervisory Board also thanked Harald Pinger for his four successful years at the company. 'Mr Pinger played a central role in securing the restructuring and funding of the KION Group during the crisis in 2009 and 2010,' said Dr John Feldmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KION Group GmbH. 'We would like to express our gratitude for his commitment and work on behalf of the company.'

Thomas Toepfer's successor as CFO of STILL GmbH will be Nikolaus Michelsen (34), who holds a degree in business administration and has been Vice President of Controlling at the STILL Group since 2010. Nikolaus Michelsen has worked at the KION Group since 2007, having been Senior Project Manager in the Business Development/M&A unit from 2008 to 2010 and Project Manager in Financial Services from 2007 to 2008. Between 2003 and 2007, he held various financial roles with Celanese in the United States and in Germany. From 2001 to 2003, he worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley.

The Company
The KION Group - comprising the six brands Linde, STILL, Fenwick, OM STILL, Baoli and Voltas - is Europe's market leader in industrial trucks, the global number two in the industry and the leading international supplier in China. The Linde and STILL brands serve the premium segment worldwide. Fenwick is the largest supplier of material-handling products in France, while OM STILL is a market leader in Italy. The Baoli brand focuses on the economy segment, and Voltas is one of the two market leaders in India. The KION Group employed roughly 22,000 people and generated revenue of around EUR4.4 billion in 2011.

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the KION Group ('KION'), are difficult to predict and may cause future developments to differ significantly from assumed developments as expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release.
Any liability (including in respect of direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage) of any member of KION with a view to the information contained in this press release is expressly disclaimed. This press release does not purport to contain all of the information that may be required to evaluate any proposed transaction, and any recipient hereof should seek its own legal, accounting and other relevant professional advice.
No member of KION undertakes any obligation or expects to update or revise this press release, including forward-looking statements or any other information contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information please contact
Michael Hauger
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 655
Email: michael.hauger@kiongroup.com

Ihre Ansprechpartner

Dr. Christopher Spies

Senior Manager Corporate Communications

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