Siegwerk Chief Executive Officer Herbert Forker (63) has announced his retirement effective March 31, 2021.
Forker has held the position for more than 21 years. He will be succeeded by Dr. Nicolas Wiedmann (47), who previously held the position of General Manager for the Business Segment Special Applications and Member of the Executive Board of the Business Division Aftermarket and Special Applications at Hella GmbH & Co KGaA. He will join Siegwerk on January 1, 2021, and will take over full responsibility following the transition period and Forker’s departure at the end of March.
Wiedmann brings many years of experience in managing global businesses and implementing change processes. Apart from his most recent position at the automotive supplier Hella GmbH & Co KGaA, he held executive roles at Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG, a polymer processing company producing plastic packaging amongst others, and Johnson Controls Automotive Europe in Germany. The PhD physicist has successfully built up innovation and product roadmaps, led merger and acquisition activities and introduced new customer and Supply Chain Management strategies to ensure efficient and sustainable business growth. During his tenure at McKinsey & Company in Duesseldorf, he led international consultant and client teams as Engagement Manager, focusing on automotive, high-tech and TIME industries (telecommunications, information technology, media and electronics).
“I am excited about the opportunity to join Siegwerk at such an important time in its long history as we prepare the company, and our employees, our Siegwerkers, for the future,” said Wiedmann. “I plan on continuing this transformation process which Herbert Forker has led and to seize new opportunities in the dynamic packaging industry. I am also looking forward to meeting our more than 5,000 Siegwerkers around the world soon and getting to know my new leadership team.”
Forker joined Siegwerk in 1999. He has proven himself a visionary in the packaging ink industry. Through numerous acquisitions, a strong focus on innovations in packaging inks and sustainability and an early adopter of disruptive digital strategies, Siegwerk is well positioned for its strategic direction as a “global circular and digital packaging solutions provider.”
By consistently transforming Siegwerk and by rapidly adapting to changing market developments in the packaging ink segments under Forker’s leadership, the family-owned company has more than quadrupled both sales and profitability.
In 2016, Forker and Siegwerk owner Alfred Keller were named “Entrepreneurs of the Year” by Ernst & Young. “It has been my honor to serve the Siegwerk family for more than two decades,” said Forker. “I am proud of what we all have achieved as a company. Successfully implementing our current strategy to be a circular and digital packaging solutions provider is an important step in remaining globally competitive. I wish Nicolas Wiedmann and the Siegwerk team all the best and will support him any way I can to ensure a smooth leadership transition and uninterrupted business continuity.”
