The executive management team at Winkelmann Group: one goal firmly in its sights
As an internationally active, family-owned group of companies with a history stretching back over more than 125 years, we pursue one goal: to safeguard and strengthen the Winkelmann Group’s ability to succeed. By focussing our efforts in this way, we make all key decisions for the Group and align our actions accordingly.
Our team
Christian Knechtel has worked for the Group since 2021; prior to his appointment as the Winkelmann Group’s first non-family CEO in July 2024, he held the role of CFO. Together with Sven Schirmer – who joined the Winkelmann Group’s executive management as the new CFO in September 2024 – our team really “walks the talk” when it comes to enforceable decisions and the resulting actions:
many years of industry and management experience enable strategic foresight. Proven entrepreneurial expertise and action are the prerequisites for meaningful innovation rooted in economic, social, and ecological considerations. When combined, these skills and competencies form the basis for ensuring the Winkelmann Group’s ability to succeed as a whole: on the one hand, to uphold the values of the Winkelmann family and, on the other, to create the conditions for continuing to lead our group of companies successfully in tomorrow’s world.
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Christian Knechtel has been the Winkelmann Group’s first non-family CEOsince July 2024.
Christian Knechtel qualified as a cutting machine operator; he studied production engineering and business administration and earned his MBA at the University of Toronto. His industrial and management experience comprises his time as production manager, deputy plant manager, and managing director at a major automotive supplier and a leading global manufacturer of precision-turned parts in both Canada and the USA. As a long-standing partner at a renowned and leading global consultancy, Christian Knechtel has supported industrial clients across a variety of transformation projects in a global leadership role.
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Sven Schirmer has held the position of CFO at the Winkelmann Group since September 2024. Together with Christian Knechtel, he forms the company’s executive management team.
Sven Schirmer, a trained toolmaker and graduate industrial engineer who studied in Mittweida and Leipzig, can look back on nearly 30 years of professional experience in the disciplines of finance and controlling. He worked as CFO for over 15 years – including for an international company in the optical industry.
Furthermore, Sven Schirmer brings in-depth expertise in the remit of post-merger integration, which he acquired when merging the operating divisions of two renowned brand manufacturers of interior and exterior lighting. This experience makes a valuable contribution to the continuous development and improvement of the Winkelmann Group.
Contact the Winkelmann Group directly
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