Jörg Biebernick has been appointed as the new CEO of Paulaner Brewery Group, effective from September 1, 2023. He succeeds Dr Jörg Lehmann, former CEO and COO of Paulaner who is leaving the company after five years at the helm due to differing opinions on the strategic direction of the company. (inside.beer, 5.4.2023)
Born in 1968, Jörg Biebernick holds a degree in Business Administration from the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences. He comes from Imperial Brands (2017-2022), the fourth-largest tobacco company in the world based in Bristol, UK, where he served as President Europe and a member of the board, responsible for the entire European business with a revenue of approximately four billion euros.
He began his career at Procter & Gamble (1992-2006), where he last served as Global Director Petcare. Subsequently, he worked as Division Vice President at Georgia Pacific (2007-2012), one of the world's leading cellulose-processing
The shareholders of the Paulaner Brewery Group, the Schörghuber Group, and Heineken, have full confidence in their new CEO.
Nico Nusmeier, Chairman of the Shareholder Committee of the Paulaner Brewery Group, states, "We are delighted to have found an outstanding leader and an internationally experienced expert in Fast Moving Consumer Goods in Jörg Biebernick. Throughout his top management career, he has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to lead large organizations, motivate people, and strengthen strong brands even further."
Jörg Biebernick, the new CEO, emphasizes, "Taking on the ambitious growth goals with the highly motivated team of over two thousand colleagues in the Paulaner Brewery Group is an exciting challenge. The group's strong brands have immense appeal, and I am confident that we will further expand their success both in Germany and on the international markets."
The outgoing CEO receives heartfelt appreciation from the shareholders: "Dr. Jörg Lehmann joined the group in 2018 during a phase when the focus was on precisely organizing the complex production and logistics processes at the new brewery site in Munich-Langwied. His leadership played a crucial role in successfully overcoming the challenges posed not only by the pandemic, but also by energy costs, raw materials, and the Ukraine crisis. He has steered the company safely through these difficult times and has contributed to the high quality of the group's beers," says Nico Nusmeier.
The Paulaner Brewery Group is a joint venture of the privately owned Schörghuber Group from Munich/Germany (70%) and Heineken (30%) (inside.beer, 10.2.2017). The group is the fifth largest brewing group in Germany with a yearly production of 6.185 million hectoliters of beer and beverages in 2022. The group is based in Munich/Germany with seven operating breweries and a 63.8 % majority stake in Kulmbacher Brewing Group.
The seven breweries of the Paulaner Brewery Group are located in Munich (brands: Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Spezi), Donau-Eschingen (Fürstl. Fürstenberg Brauerei), Karlsruhe (Höpfner), Mossautal (Schmucker), Rosenheim (Auer-Bräu), Miesbach (Hopf) and most recently Gotha (inside.beer, 17.10.2022)
Paulaner is worldwide known as a wheat beer specialist. However, the company has also significantly shaped the recent trend of pale beers (“Hell”), particularly through the successful market entry of Chiemseer and the well-executed relaunch of Paulaner Hell. The success story of the non-alcoholic cult beverage Paulaner Spezi is unparalleled in the German beverage market. Kulmbacher Brauerei, on the other hand, has established itself as the market leader in swing-top bottle offerings with its brand Mönchshof.
Despite the strategic withdrawal from the Russian market following the attack on Ukraine, the Paulaner Group managed to compensate for the loss and maintain international sales stability by achieving growth in other global markets.
