OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 12.12.2017. The Supervisory Board of Carl Zeiss AG has decided to expand the Executive Board of the ZEISS Group, which currently has four members. This is in line with the implementation of the ZEISS portfolio strategy and anchors the business responsibility in the Executive Board. Effective 1 January 2018, two positions will be added to the Executive Board of the ZEISS Group headed by President & CEO Dr. Michael Kaschke, one for the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology segment and the other for Research & Quality Technology.
"ZEISS is still on course for further growth in important future markets, as evidenced by the record figures from the past fiscal year. The setup of ZEISS as a portfolio company initiated several years ago in line with market and customer segments is key for continuing this successful path. This is now also fully reflected in the structure of the Executive Board," says Dr. Dieter Kurz, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Carl Zeiss AG.
Dr. Karl Lamprecht to become Executive Board Member for Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology segment
Effective 1 January 2018, the current Head of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) business group, Dr. Karl Lamprecht, will serve as Member of the Executive Board responsible for the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology segment.
"Karl Lamprecht is well-versed in the special challenges posed by the volatile semiconductor market, and has an extensive network of both partners and customers. Over the past 12 years, he has contributed significantly to the success of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology business group and consequently to the success of ZEISS," says Dr. Michael Kaschke. "We wish Karl Lamprecht much success in his new role and responsibilities as Executive Board Member of the ZEISS Group."
Dr. Jochen Peter to become Executive Board Member for Research & Quality Technology segment
Also effective 1 January 2018, the current Head of the Industrial Metrology (IMT) business group, Dr. Jochen Peter, will lead as a Member of the Executive Board the entire Research & Quality Technology segment which comprises the IMT as well as the Microscopy business group. "The Research & Quality Technology segment offers considerable growth potential for the ZEISS Group in particular as a result of the opportunities offered by digitalization and smart industries. There are many points of intersection between the business groups IMT and Microscopy with great opportunities for our customers," says Dr. Michael Kaschke. "We are delighted that Jochen Peter will lead this ZEISS segment directly as Member of the Executive Board. We wish him much success."
Thomas Spitzenpfeil will leave ZEISS to pursue new challenges
Thomas Spitzenpfeil, whose responsibilities as Member of the Executive Board currently include the role as CFO and CIO, will pursue after eight successful years at ZEISS new challenges outside the ZEISS Group. He and the Supervisory Board have agreed not to extend his appointment for a third term. The Supervisory Board would like to express its sincere thanks to Mr. Spitzenpfeil for his work over the years. It has asked him to stay on, if possible, until the scheduled end of his appointment on 30 September 2018 and to support the President & CEO with integrating the new Executive Board Members.
"Thomas Spitzenpfeil has made many important contributions to the success of ZEISS since 2010, in particular his achievements in setting up and evolving the shared service functions Accounting, Financial Systems and Corporate IT," adds Dr. Dieter Kurz.
A search is already underway to find a successor for the position of CFO of the ZEISS Group.
In addition to the newly appointed Members of the Executive Board headed by President & CEO Dr. Michael Kaschke, Dr. Matthias Metz, Head of the Vision Care/Consumer Products segment, Dr. Ludwin Monz, Head of the Medical Technology segment, and CFO Thomas Spitzenpfeil will continue to be members of the Executive Board.
Dr. Karl Lamprecht: After earning his doctorate in physics at the Institute for Experimental Physics of the University of Innsbruck and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Chicago (USA), Dr. Karl Lamprecht worked as a consultant and technology investor at McKinsey & Company, Inc. and AdAstra Venture Consult GmbH from 1995 to 2005. In 2005, he joined the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology business group as Head of Strategic Development. Three years later, he became Head of the strategic business unit (SBU) known at that time as Laser Optics. In 2015, he was appointed Head of Semiconductor Manufacturing Optics, the largest SBU at SMT, and at the end of 2016 he became Head of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology business group.
Dr. Jochen Peter has been Head of the Industrial Metrology business group since 2015. From 2011 to 2014, he was Head of Strategic Corporate Development for the ZEISS Group and was closely involved in shaping the successful ZEISS Agenda 2016. He then became Head of Technology & Innovation at the Vision Care business group. Before coming to ZEISS, he was a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, focusing on the automobile industry, technology companies and medical technology, and spent a number of years in the USA. He started his professional career in 2000 as a development engineer at BMW AG, during which time he also completed his doctorate at the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics. Dr. Peter studied mechanical and process engineering at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, and industrial engineering at the University of Hagen.
Thomas Spitzenpfeil is Member of the Executive Board as well as CFO and CIO of the ZEISS Group. As Member of the Executive Board of the ZEISS Group, he oversees Corporate Finance & Controlli
