Roland Tobias, CEO of Paulaner Brauerei Gruppe (Paulaner Brewing Group) will leave the company “due to differences of opinion on the management of the company and planned changes,” the company said in a press statement today. At the request of the shareholders he will still chair the Annual General Meeting of Kulmbacher Brauerei on May 17, 2018 as Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Until the appointment of a new CEO, the Managing Director of Technology Jörg Lehmann will temporarily chair the executive committee.
Roland Tobias has served since 2009 as CEO of Brau Holding International (today Paulaner Brewing Group) until it merged with the Paulaner Brewing Group in July 2017. He simultaneously acted as CEO of the Paulaner Brewery.
"We expressly thank him for his dedication in recent years, during which he decisively shaped and developed the company: Under his leadership, the Paulaner Brewing Group has expanded its domestic market share while at the same time restructuring its international business. It has been able to sustainably increase its contribution to the overall success of the Schörghuber Group," said Alexandra Schörghuber, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Schörghuber Group, and Dr. Ing. Klaus N. Naeve, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Paulaner Brewery Group, on the occasion of the change.
The dismissal does not come to a surprise. Since Paulaner in September 2015 relocated its brewery from its 375 year old Nockherberg site on the high banks of the Isar river to an industrial location in Langwied on the outskirts of Munich, the company’s results are well below target figures.
At last shareholder’s committee, which represents the 70% share of the Schörghuber family and the 30% share of Heineken, Tobias had to submit the budget plan for 2018 a second time before it was approved.
Two months ago, Dr. Stefan Lustig, Managing Director of Technology of Paulaner Brauerei Gruppe, during whose mandate the relocation occured, also had to leave the company. The company said at that time that Lustig did “not renew his managing contract in agreement with the shareholders.” (inside.beer, 8.2.2018)
The press statement goes on that “the shareholders of the Paulaner Brewing Group have decided to adapt the management structure of the company to the changed requirements following last year's corporate restructuring.” (inside.beer, 10.2.2017)
“The company, which is now structured in the form of a parent company, was previously managed by four managing directors. Management is being expanded by two additional members, HR Director Christiane Uhl and Sales Director Retailer Raphael Rauer. The areas of responsibility in the management are being redesigned after internal coordination,” the press statement ends.
