Pfeiffer CEO Britta Giesen departs abruptly
The pump manufacturer Pfeiffer Vacuum is losing its CEO, Britta Giesen. According to a company announcement, the CEO is leaving abruptly. The supervisory noard has agreed with Giesen to terminate her employment contract as of April 9. Giesen has resigned from her position with immediate effect.
The announcement contains no information regarding a succession plan. This also suggests that the departure was sudden. Pfeiffer Vacuum provides no further details on the reasons behind the departure, even upon inquiry. A press release refers to the effectiveness of the domination and profit transfer agreement between the major shareholder, the Busch Group, and Pfeiffer in May of last year, as well as the integration of key functions of the two companies. However, these facts have been known for some time.
Long remaining term
Giesen is leaving the company „by mutual agreement“. The supervisory board thanks her „for the very successful development of the company with significant revenue growth and increasing profitability in recent years“.
The long remaining term of the management contract, which runs for three and three-quarter years, is noteworthy. The employment contract extended until the end of 2028 only commenced in early 2024. This means that the separation could be costly for Pfeiffer. The vacuum pump manufacturer had announced the contract extension at the annual general meeting in May 2023.
New board structure
Observers speculate that the sudden departure of Giesen could be related to the newly approved board structure in March of this year. Given the new allocation of roles following the appointment of an additional board member, she delegated some responsibilities, and Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Ehrk was appointed as her deputy – an uncommon decision for a board that previously consisted of two members and now has three.
Thilo Rau also joined as Chief Information Officer, a role that, as per company information, is intended to ensure „the sustainable management of IT challenges“. The business engineer had already been responsible for numerous IT projects and is now expected to expedite the consolidation of key functions within the Busch Group. Additionally, Rau, who currently serves as CFO of the major shareholder Busch, will oversee finance and control, compliance, legal affairs, communication, and investor relations.
Change in responsibility allocation
Under the new responsibility allocation, Giesen remained responsible for global sales and service, research and development, product management, corporate social responsibility, and human resources, but relinquished IT as well as finance and control. The corporate strategy department was dissolved. The industrial engineer, born in 1966, became a member of the Pfeiffer board in October 2020 and assumed leadership of the committee since the beginning of 2021.
She joined from building manager ISS Facility Services, where she served as Chief Operating Officer. Previously, the Ph.D. manager worked as CEO for Thyssenkrupp Access Solutions and held various positions at the pump manufacturer KSB. Giesen began her career as a consultant at A.T. Kearney.
