voestalpine AG’s Management Board: Renewed Mandates and New Appointments for Continued Growth

voestalpine AG’s Management Board: Renewed Mandates and New Appointments for Continued Growth

(IN BRIEF) voestalpine AG’s Supervisory Board has made significant decisions regarding its Management Board, reappointing three existing members and introducing two new members. Herbert Eibensteiner will continue as Chairman of the Management Board for another five years, with Hubert Zajicek and Franz Kainersdorfer’s mandates as Heads of the Steel Division and Metal Engineering Division respectively also extended by five years. Reinhard Nöbauer will join the Management Board as the new Head of the High Performance Metals Division, succeeding Franz Rotter. The company is in search of a new Head of the Metal Forming Division to replace Peter Schwab. The changes signify a mix of continuity and change, ensuring voestalpine AG’s growth and success in various sectors of its operations.

(PRESS RELEASE) LINZ, 30-Aug-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — In its meeting, the Supervisory Board of voestalpine AG reached a decision to extend the mandates of three members of the Management Board, and appointed two new members. Herbert Eibensteiner remains the Chairman of the Management Board of voestalpine AG for another five years. The mandates of Hubert Zajicek as Head of the Steel Division and Franz Kainersdorfer as Head of the Metal Engineering Division were also extended by a further five years each. Reinhard Nöbauer will become a Member of the Management Board from April 1, 2024, and the new Head of the High Performance Metals Division. He thus succeeds Franz Rotter, who will retire on March 31, 2024. His time on the Management Board will initially run for three years. The Supervisory Board will decide promptly on a successor to Robert Ottel, who yesterday declined an offer of the Supervisory Board to extend his contract as CFO. Ottel’s period in office ends on March 31, 2024. The successor to Peter Schwab, who at his own request will not be extending his Management Board contract beyond the current period in office, which expires on March 31, 2024, will be announced in September.

Continuity and stability—as well as change—characterize the current decisions of the Supervisory Board of voestalpine AG as regards the future constellation of the Management Board of Austria’s largest industrial firm. Herbert Eibensteiner (60) was confirmed as Chairman of the Management Board and thus reappointed to this position for a further five years. He is currently responsible for the “classic” CEO functions, in particular strategy, strategic environmental management/sustainability, R&D, and M&A. Herbert Eibensteiner has been a Member of the Management Board of voestalpine AG since 2012 and its chairman since 2019.

“Herbert Eibensteiner has successfully guided the voestalpine Group through very challenging times and presented record figures in the past two business years. His remit continues to cover the Group’s long-term strategic orientation. Sustainability, digitalization, and diversity remain—more than ever—in focus. Under his leadership, voestalpine is taking the first big step toward green steel production with greentec steel. The Supervisory Board is certain that the Management Board team will convincingly accomplish this challenge under his leadership”. Wolfgang Eder, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of voestalpine AG

Appointment of Franz Kainersdorfer and Hubert Zajicek for another five years

Hubert Zajicek and Franz Kainersdorfer were also reappointed until 2029. Hubert Zajicek (54), Head of the Steel Division, has led the strongest division of voestalpine AG in terms of revenue since 2019, and is responsible within the Group for raw materials. Franz Kainersdorfer (56), Head of the Metal Engineering Division, manages the world market leader in complete railway systems, and has been a Member of the Management Board since 2011. His remit also covers the Group’s long-term energy supply. “Hubert Zajicek and Franz Kainersdorfer can look back over very successful years in their divisions. At the same time as making strategic plans and taking the first implementation steps for greentec steel, they have promisingly set up the biggest Group projects for the coming years in their divisions that will be decisive for future success. The Supervisory Board thus continues to have full trust in their competence,” says Eder.

New Members of the Management Board for the High Performance Metals Division and the Metal Forming Division

The General Committee of the Supervisory Board has been working on the preparations for the future composition of the Management Board since the end of last year with the support of international executive search consultants. The result of this work in the Supervisory Board is the present extension in office of three Members of the Management Board, the internal filling of the post in the High Performance Metals Division, and the ongoing search for an external future Member of the Management Board to be appointed Head of the Metal Forming Division.

Accordingly, Reinhard Nöbauer (59) will become a Member of the Management Board and the new Head of High Performance Metals Division on April 1, 2024, replacing Franz Rotter (66). Nöbauer is a graduate of the Montanuniversität Leoben and of ETH Zurich. He has worked in various group companies in Austria and abroad since 2005. He has been a Member of the Management Board of the High Performance Metals Division since 2011. “We look forward to being able to continue writing the success story of the High Performance Metals Division with Reinhard Nöbauer. He has done an outstanding job as a Member of the Divisional Management Board for more than 12 years. The goal was to find an internal solution and we have succeeded in doing so,” says Eder. Nöbauer was born in Steyr in 1963 and has two children.

“I am delighted by the trust the Supervisory Board has placed in me. I look forward to taking on the High Performance Metals Division, a superbly established corporate group within the voestalpine Group. Together with our 14,000 or so employees, we want to further expand our leading market position. The new stainless steel plant in Kapfenberg is an important element of this”. Reinhard Nöbauer, Member of the Management Board of the High Performance Metals Division

A personality from industry with international experience will also be appointed in the coming year as a new Member of the Management Board and Head of the Metal Forming Division, as a successor to Peter Schwab. “The search process extended to several countries and we are now convinced we have made the right choice to further expand our position in the areas of automotive, energy, and storage technology,” says Eder, continuing: “For reasons of labor law, the new Head of the Metal Forming Division will be announced during September.”

The Members of the Management Board of voestalpine AG who will be appointed as of April 1, 2024, are therefore:

• DI Herbert Eibensteiner, CEO (Member of the Management Board since 2012, Chairman since 2019)
• DI Hubert Zajicek, Head of the Steel Division (Member of the Management Board since 2019)
• DI Dr. Franz Kainersdorfer, Head of the Metal Engineering Division (Member of the Management Board since 2011)
• DI Dr. Reinhard Nöbauer, Head of the High Performance Metals Division (new)
• TBA Head of the Metal Forming Division (new)—announcement in September 2023
• TBA CFO (new)

Franz Rotter, Peter Schwab, and Robert Ottel—three longstanding, very highly successful pioneers of the voestalpine Group—are leaving. Franz Rotter developed the High Performance Metals Division into one of the world’s leading suppliers of high performance materials and components for the global aviation, oil and natural gas, and toolmaking industries. Peter Schwab was Head of R&D for many years. As Head of the Metal Forming Division, he later advanced the worldwide rollout of key technologies in the automotive segment with a focus on China and the NAFTA region. Robert Ottel has put his proven expertise as CFO to the test in the last 20 years and made a significant contribution to achieving the ambitious Group objectives.

The voestalpine Group

voestalpine is a globally leading steel and technology group with a unique combination of materials and processing expertise. voestalpine, which operates globally, has around 500 Group companies and locations in more than 50 countries on all five continents. It has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its premium products and system solutions, voestalpine is a leading partner to the automotive and consumer goods industries, as well as to the aerospace and oil & natural gas industries. The company is also the global market leader in railway systems, tool steel, and special sections. voestalpine is committed to the global climate goals and has a clear plan for decarbonizing steel production with its greentec steel program. In the business year 2022/23, the Group generated revenue of EUR 18.2 billion, with an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 2.5 billion; it has around 51,200 employees worldwide.

About voestalpine

voestalpine is a globally leading steel and technology group with a unique combination of materials and processing expertise. voestalpine, which operates globally, has around 500 Group companies and locations in more than 50 countries on all five continents. It has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its premium products and system solutions, voestalpine is a leading partner to the automotive and consumer goods industries, as well as to the aerospace and oil & natural gas industries. The company is also the global market leader in railway systems, tool steel, and special sections. voestalpine is committed to the global climate goals and has a clear plan for decarbonizing steel production with its greentec steel program.

Media Contact:

Peter Felsbach
Head of Group Communications & Spokesman

SOURCE: voestalpine AG