Chainsaw and garden tool manufacturer brings ex-Bosch manager as CEO

Michael Traub

The new Stihl boss worked for Bosch in Germany, Asia, and South and North America for two decades.

(Photo: Stihl)

The saw and garden tool manufacturer Stihl has found an external successor solution: Michael Traub, 52, will succeed Bertram Kandziora as CEO on February 1, 2022, who, as already announced, will join the company shortly before his 66th birthday when his current contract expires Retirement is about. Like Kandziora, Traub worked for the Bosch Group in the home appliance division for many years. Both managers have known each other for a long time.

“We are delighted to have a very experienced and competent CEO for our family company,” said founder grandson as well as advisory and supervisory board chairman Nikolas Stihl. The non-family manager not only has extensive experience in leading large business units on different continents, but also in product and sales topics, IT, smart solutions and in the start-up world.

The economist, who was born in Ehingen an der Donau, worked for the Bosch Group in Germany, Asia, South and North America for two decades after completing his studies in Hohenheim. After six years as CEO and head of Bosch Siemens Home Appliances North America, he took over the management of Serta Simmons Bedding in the USA in 2014 and became CEO of Plum, Inc. in 2020.

The owner family Stihl thanked the still incumbent CEO Kandziora for his “outstanding work” in the past few years. Most recently, the Stihl boss acted very courageously in the pandemic. While other companies cut back production, Kandziora let production continue and the warehouses filled. He was convinced that deliverability would be crucial in the pandemic.

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And Kandziora was right. The demand for gardening and forestry equipment rose in double digits, partly because many people could not travel and instead worked in their gardens. Outdoor forest workers, horticulturists and road maintenance workers were also barely affected by the lockdown.

Sales tripled

Under the aegis of Kandziora, sales tripled from 1.5 to 4.6 billion euros. The number of employees rose accordingly from 7,000 to over 18,000. Stihl entered the cordless tool business, integrated the garden tools of its subsidiary Viking under the Stihl brand and most recently opened sales via its own online shop.

With Kandziora, the Stihl family found an external manager at the top as a permanent solution for the first time in 2005 after a previous brief attempt. For decades, Hans Peter Stihl, 89, still personally liable partner today, ran the company together with his sister and brother. Traub is now joining the board as a member of the board at the beginning of November, but has already been unanimously appointed as Kandziora’s successor.

More: Stihl increases sales thanks to the corona boom – but material bottlenecks are slowing production

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