Reimund Pohl, Chief Executive Officer of PHOENIX Pharmahandel GmbH & Co KG (PHOENIX group), will retire as scheduled by the end of the fiscal year 2013/14 on 31 January 2014 after having worked for the company for 32 years. Effective from 1 February 2014, Oliver Windholz, Executive Board Member for Sales/Marketing, will succeed Mr Pohl and will be appointed as Chief Executive Officer.
The Shareholders, the Advisory Board as well as the colleagues in the Executive Board would like to thank Reimund Pohl for his excellent management achievements and his long-standing loyal commitment to the company. He has driven the consistent growth path of the PHOENIX group to a leading European pharmaceutical trader. His time as CEO saw many important milestones for the future of the company such as the further development of the Europe-wide retail activities and the successful continuation of the expansion into Northern and Eastern Europe.
“Mr Pohl has remarkably shaped and personified the PHOENIX group. As Chief Executive Officer he has led the company with determination, courage and passion, developed new business segments and regions and has made the company viable for the future. He is highly regarded within the organization as well as the industry. Without his loyalty and strong personal commitment, the difficult financial situation during the crisis period in the years 2009 and 2010 could not have been mastered”, said Dr Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the PHOENIX group and CEO of HeidelbergCement AG. “On behalf of the shareholders, the Advisory Board, the Executive Board and all employees of the PHOENIX group I wish Mr Pohl all the best and good health for his well-deserved retirement”, stated Dr Scheifele.
Before Mr Pohl took over the position of Chief Executive Officer in 2005, he had been responsible for Operations, Logistics and Innovation as a member of the Executive Board since 1997. Mr Pohl holds a degree in business administration and began his career within the company in 1981 at Hageda AG in Köln, a predecessor company of PHOENIX group.
The designated successor Oliver Windholz joined the Executive Board on 1 February 2011 taking over the responsibility for Sales and Marketing. Before the industrial engineer came to the PHOENIX group, he had been the Chief Executive Officer of the ratiopharm group in Ulm. “Mr Windholz has profound knowledge to successfully drive the business activities and to continue the targeted development of the company. We wish him a lot of success and all the best for his new position”, said Dr Scheifele on the occasion of Mr Windholz’s appointment.
Also effective from 1 February 2014, Frank Große-Natrop, will be appointed as Member of the Executive Board and will take over the group-wide responsibility for Operations/Logistics. He has been Managing Director of the Dutch subsidiary Brocacef Groep NV for many years after having led several German distribution centres as operations manager. “Mr Große-Natrop will enrich the Executive Board with his international background. We are looking forward to working with Mr Große-Natrop”, said Mr Windholz.
The current Board Member responsible for Operations/Logistics, Dr Hans-Ulrich Kummer, will leave the Executive Board effective from 31 January 2014 and will take over a new role within the PHOENIX group. The shareholders and the Advisory Board would like to thank Dr Kummer for his excellent work and his dedicated commitment for many years and wish him all the best for his new responsibility.
