In its meeting today, the supervisory board of Zumtobel resolved on a change at the top of its group management. Harald Sommerer was appointed as a member of the management board of Zumtobel and will succeed Andreas Ludwig as the chief executive officer of Zumtobel as per May 1, 2010. Ludwig, who has been serving as CEO since September 2003, will leave the company on April 30, 2010, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
The supervisory board of Zumtobel recognises Andreas Ludwig for his successful work at the Zumtobel Group. Under his leadership the company went public on the Vienna Stock Exchange and he has set important steps towards the internationalisation of the Zumtobel Group. Going forward, Ludwig will take up new responsibilities outside of the Zumtobel Group.
Until the end of January 2010, Harald Sommerer (43) served as chairman of the management board of AT&S Austria Technologie and Systemtechnik, and has been serving as vice chairman of the supervisory board of Zumtobel since April 2006. During the past years, Sommerer successfully expanded AT&S into a leading manufacturer of printed circuit boards in Europe and Asia, has many years of experience in managing a publicly listed company and is very familiar with the Zumtobel Group’s business based on his work in the supervisory board.
In an initial statement, Jürg Zumtobel, chairman of the supervisory board of Zumtobel said, “I have come to know Mr Sommerer as an extremely competent, committed and prudent colleague in the supervisory board of Zumtobel. I am very pleased that he agreed to serve as Zumtobel’s new CEO.” Sommerer will be appointed as chief executive officer on the basis of a three-year contract ending April 30, 2013 and has resigned from his position in the supervisory board on March 24, 2010.
The international market experience and the knowledge in the field of electronics that Sommerer has acquired in his professional past will also be of significant benefit for the future positioning of the Zumtobel Group as a leading player in the global lighting industry and for actively pushing innovative products such as the LED technology. “Mr Sommerer also enjoys a high reputation with institutional and private investors as well as financial analysts, which is a very important asset for Zumtobel as a listed company”, chairman of the supervisory board Jürg Zumtobel added.
Short biography of Harald Sommerer
Harald Sommerer was born in 1967 in Vienna, Austria. He gained a PhD in economics and social sciences from the University of Economics and Business in Vienna and a Master of Management from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (USA). In 1997, Mr Sommerer became a member of the management board of AT&S Austria Technologie and Systemtechnik where he served as CFO from 1998 until 2005 and as CEO from 2005 until early 2010.