Südzucker executive board member Dr Thomas Kirchberg retires as of September 2022

Succession process initiated by the supervisory board

At the Südzucker supervisory board meeting on 11 November 2021, Dr Thomas Kirchberg has informed the board that he will not renew his executive board contract, which expires on 31 August 2022.

„After 33 years with Südzucker, including almost 15 years as a member of the executive board, we respect Dr Kirchberg’s decision with great regret. We are grateful for his many years of service, characterised by mutual trust, for his dedicated commitment to the company and for his numerous achievements”, states Dr Hans-Jörg Gebhard, chairman of the supervisory board of Südzucker AG. “We will use the remaining months to arrange the succession.” “In the executive board team, we value Dr Kirchberg not only for his experience and his tremendous expertise, but also as a person whose collegial nature makes him a great team player”, adds Dr Niels Pörksen, CEO of Südzucker AG.

In a message to the employees, Dr Kirchberg says: „I have been and am still  working for our Südzucker Group with great pleasure and passion. My job has always involved a great geographical distance between my home and my place of work. I am very grateful that my family has always accepted the resulting restrictions. Now the moment has come to spend more time together and to realign priorities.” 

After holding various functions in the Südzucker Group, Dr Kirchberg has been a member of the executive board of Südzucker AG since September 2007. Today he is responsible for industrial markets (CropEnergies, sugar), agriculture, human resources, new business development, research, development & services and sustainability.