Andreas Klein's starting situation could hardly be more challenging. While others who rise to CEO positions are often given several months to acclimatise, the new CEO of specialist manufacturer SGL Carbon has to immediately step in as a crisis manager. The company's second-largest division, carbon fibres, is facing serious difficulties. Even after nearly 100 days in office, there is little room for large strategic considerations. Over the next six, twelve, or eighteen months, the focus will be on market challenges and necessary cost-cutting measures, says Klein. Employees and shareholders will have to wait for a broader strategic vision.

The new CEO is also facing headwinds on the stock market. Investors responded to the outlook for 2025 with a sharp drop in the share price. This mainly reflects the poor performance of the silicon carbide business, caused by delays in the introduction of new electric vehicle models, a general slump in EV sales, and clogged inventories. Klein's solution to secure revenue and profitability in a difficult market environment doesn’t seem promising to investors. Deutsche Bank has removed its buy recommendation, and the market capitalisation is well below half a billion euros.

One positive for Klein is that he knows the company well. Born in Bonn in 1982, Klein is far from an SGL veteran, having been with the company for just one and a half years. He joined SGL in October 2023 as head of the Graphite Solutions division. Apparently, his performance was so strong that the supervisory board promoted him to the CEO position after just over a year and gave him a three-year contract. The head of the largest division naturally became a candidate for the CEO role when the position was filled internally.

In addition to his industry experience, Klein impressed with his expertise in marketing, strategy, and supply chains. He has a strong CFO by his side in Thomas Dippold, whose contract was extended for five years in November. Klein retains responsibility for the Graphite Solutions segment, signaling that the board is becoming more involved in the company’s operational business.

Like his predecessor Torsten Derr, who moved to the specialty glass and ceramic manufacturer Schott, Klein built his career at the chemical company Lanxess, a spin-off of Bayer. Klein, who studied business administration and also earned an MBA in Bradford, began his career in 2003 at the pharmaceutical and agricultural company and worked for Lanxess from 2005 onwards, initially as a product manager and later as head of marketing and sales for various units. From 2017 to 2022, he was responsible for marketing and sales at Lanxess subsidiary Saltigo. Derr was his boss during this time until Derr moved to SGL in June 2020. Most recently, Klein led the Lanxess division for inorganic acids.

SGL's search for „strategic options“ for the carbon fibre division has been known to investors and employees since February 2024. However, no one stepped up to buy the division. After the sale efforts failed, the company must now restructure the loss-making division on its own. The division includes seven locations in Europe and North America, three of which are in Germany. It is already clear that the restructuring will be painful for employees, and costly for SGL. The company estimates the liquidity burden of the restructuring at 50 million euros over the next two years.

Klein faces tough decisions with upcoming site closures. The carbon fibre division once represented the future hope of a company which originally specialised in graphite electrodes for electric steel production, and cathodes for the aluminium industry. Due to its low weight and strength, carbon fibre was considered the material of the future for electric vehicle bodies. To ensure supply, Volkswagen and BMW even acquired larger stakes in SGL. However, this story is now over. BMW removed the i3, which had a carbon-fibre passenger cell, from the market, and SGL's profitable contract with the automaker expired. The sales gap was supposed to be filled by wind turbine manufacturers, but the market currently faces massive overcapacity. Klein reports that entire wind turbines are being shipped from China, not just rotor blades.