The Supervisory Board of Kuka Aktiengesellschaft has decided to prematurely appoint CEO Peter Mohnen as Chairman of the Management Board until 2024. Chief Financial Officer Andreas Pabst will join Midea’s Robotics and Automation division as CFO in July 2021.
The term of office of the Chairman of the Board of Management will thus be extended by a further three years until summer 2024, with effect from 1 July 2021. “I would like to thank the Supervisory Board and the employees for their confidence in my work,” said Peter Mohnen.
“I have been a part of this company for almost ten years and really appreciate the unique Kuka spirit. Together we have stabilized Kuka and brought it through the Corona crisis. Now we are continuing to focus on our vision for the coming years. Automation and digitalization are becoming more important than ever. This is where we will strengthen Kuka as a global player, with new areas and new markets.”
Mohnen is also aiming for significantly stronger growth in the Chinese sales market. “We need to make access to automation easier and more intuitive and offer our customers new solutions for sustainable and efficient production. To this end, we have launched comprehensive future projects from our Augsburg headquarters, which we are rolling out worldwide. The heart of Kuka’s developments and innovations continues to beat in Augsburg.”
Chairman of the Supervisory Board Dr. Andy Gu said: “Peter Mohnen is leading Kuka through the economic crisis with confidence and stability. With him at the helm, we have the right person to continue to put Kuka on a growth course. He has known the company for many years and enjoys the trust of the workforce and the Supervisory Board. We look forward to a trusting and successful collaboration in the coming years.”
Andreas Pabst, Member of the Executive Board for Controlling and Finance, will move from Kuka to Midea Robotics and Automation, one of Midea’s five divisions, as Chief Financial Officer as of July 2021. The Midea Group has been Kuka’s main shareholder since 2017.
The Kuka Supervisory Board and CEO Mohnen thanked Andreas Pabst for his many years of excellent cooperation. “Andreas Pabst has steered Kuka through challenging times with his high level of expertise as Chief Financial Officer. We are linked by many years of trusting cooperation. I regret his decision and personally wish him every success in his new role,” said Peter Mohnen.
The search for a successor for the position of Chief Financial Officer is ongoing. Andreas Pabst joined Kuka AG in 2008 as Head of Consolidated Financial Statements, and in 2018 the Augsburg native became Chief Financial Officer; his predecessor was current CEO Peter Mohnen. Mohnen joined Kuka in 2012 as the board member responsible for controlling and finance, and at the end of 2018 the Rhineland-Palatinate native took over as CEO.