Change in management
Richard Harris new CEO of Walter
Change in the management of Walter AG: Richard Harris will become the new Chairman of the Management Board on February 4, 2019. He succeeds Mirko Merlo, who has been CEO of Walter AG since 2012 and decided to leave the company at his own request at the end of 2018.
Richard Harris brings many years of international experience in tool production and strategic supply management to Tübingen. The new Walter CEO has been working for the parent company Sandvik in various management positions since 2002. Most recently, Richard Harris headed the Powder and Blank Technology division within Sandvik Machining Solutions, which has been operating under the name SMS Supply since 2018. There, he was instrumental in driving forward the strategic and operational development of supply management.
Commenting on his new role as CEO of Walter, the 49-year-old Briton says: "Walter has an excellent reputation in the machining industry: the company is a technological leader in many areas. The digitalization strategy launched by Mirko Merlo positions the company ideally. Together with the Walter team, I want to further develop this successful corporate strategy so that we can continue to grow worldwide in a challenging market environment in which much is still in flux."
Walter would like to thank Mirko Merlo for 35 years of very successful work for the company. In his position as CEO, he led Walter on a course of growth and profitability. "Walter has developed extremely well over the last six years. Now is the right time to enable a new approach at the highest management level and to strategically steer the company into the future," says Mirko Merlo, explaining his decision. "I wish Richard Harris every success for the upcoming tasks and positive challenges."
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