Progroup Founder Jürgen Heindl Steps Down from Supervisory Board

The new chairman is Harald Schwager, who previously held leadership positions in the international chemical industry for more than 30 years. Julia Arlinghaus and Thomas Kölbl were also newly appointed to the board. The outgoing members are former Chairman Rainer Dietmann, Rudi Wimmer, and company founder Jürgen Heindl.

Arlinghaus is a scientist specializing in production, automation, and digitalization. Her areas of expertise also include artificial intelligence and resilient production systems. Kölbl served for many years as Chief Financial Officer of Südzucker AG.

Christian Buchel remains a member of the Supervisory Board and assumes the role of Vice Chairman. He is President of the French Electricity Union (UFE) and previously held a leadership position at a European energy conglomerate.

With Jürgen Heindl’s departure, his tenure on the company’s governing bodies comes to an end. Heindl founded Progroup in 1991 and led it as CEO for more than three decades. As part of a generational transition on the Executive Board, he moved to the Supervisory Board in 2022/2023. Under his leadership, Progroup developed into one of Europe’s market leaders in corrugated board formats, according to the company. In September, as part of its partnership with Akarton, Progroup began producing corrugated packaging at the Schüttdorf Packaging Park.

Progroup CEO Maximilian Heindl explained that the new appointments continue the generational transition already completed on the Executive Board. The new members are expected to bring their experience in the areas of industrial transformation, production technology, and finance to the board, the company said.