Passing the baton at STILL
Personnel change on the management board at Hamburg-based forklift truck and warehouse technology specialist STILL GmbH: After 34 years of service in various companies within the KION Group, CFO Karl-Heinz Birkner will be retiring with effect from February 1, 2018. He will be succeeded by Thorsten Hofmann, currently head of corporate controlling at the KION Group in Wiesbaden. He was appointed on Friday by the supervisory board of STILL GmbH with effect from February 1, 2018.
“Karl-Heinz Birkner has made a significant contribution to the success and profile of the Linde Material Handling and STILL brands, and the KION Group as a whole, in a variety of important finance roles,” commented Thomas Toepfer, chairman of the supervisory board at STILL GmbH and CFO of the KION Group. “Our brand companies and the Group were very fortunate to benefit from Mr. Birkner’s extensive and valuable expertise over such a long period. He knew the DNA of the KION Group and its key brands, Linde MH and STILL, like few others, and played a very important role in the Group’s success. We wish Karl-Heinz Birkner the very best for his well-earned retirement.”
Karl-Heinz Birkner was appointed to the management board at STILL in February 2016, having already been a member of it between 2009 and 2011. Before transferring to Hamburg, he was the head of accounting, tax, and financial services at the KION Group. After graduating with a degree in economics, he started his career in 1984 at Linde AG and held several management positions over the years, primarily in the industrial truck business, including as a member of the management team at Linde Material Handling between 2005 and 2007.
“We are delighted that in Thorsten Hofmann we have gained an outstanding financial expert with many years of experience within the KION Group to fill the vacant position on the management board at STILL,” commented Henry Puhl, managing director and president of STILL GmbH. “His in-depth knowledge of the Group, the sector, the markets and our products will be an excellent asset in the further expansion of our long-established STILL brand.”
Thorsten Hofmann (52) began his career in 1991 in controlling at Linde AG. In 1994, he transferred to Linde Material Handling and held a number of management positions in finance and controlling in Germany and abroad. In 2013, he was appointed the head of group-wide controlling at KION Group.
