The Supervisory Board of Carl Zeiss AG has confirmed the appointment of Andreas Pecher to the role of President and CEO of the company, effective from 1 April 2025.
Pecher will succeed current CEO Dr. Karl Lamprecht – who took over the role in June 2020 – following his decision not to seek a contract extension.
Pecher joined Zeiss in 2013 as head of strategic business development for Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT). He held several different roles including head of the Semiconductor Mask Solutions and the Semiconductor Manufacturing Optics (SMO) strategic business units. Pecher subsequently went on to become a member of the Executive Board in 2022 and was responsible for the ZEISS SMT segment.
Dr. Michael Bolle, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Carl Zeiss AG, commented on the changes. He said: “With the appointment of Andreas Pecher, it has once again proved possible to fill the position of President and CEO from among our ranks.”
Bolle continued: “We are looking forward to continuing the successful development of the Group together with him. In addition to his extensive experience gained during his many years of exceptionally successful work for ZEISS, Andreas Pecher has an excellent understanding of technology as well as a wide range of management expertise from various leadership positions. In particular, this includes the development and implementation of successful innovation and growth strategies. The Supervisory Board would like to wish Andreas Pecher every success in his new role.”
Pecher’s predecessor Lamprecht joined the company in 2005 as head of strategic business development for the SMT segment. In 2018, Lamprecht’s remit was expanded to include responsibility for the entire segment as a member of the executive board of Carl Zeiss AG. He has also served on the Supervisory Board of Körber AG and as Chairman of the University Council of Aalen University.
In his tenure as President and CEO, Lamprecht oversaw strong financial performance; the ZEISS Group’s revenue increased from €6.3 billion to over €10 billion. Additionally, EBIT rose from €922 million to around €1.7 billion for the fiscal year 2022/23. Such figures have been coupled with an increase to the number of employees, which rose from approximately 32,000 to over 44,000 (as of 31 March 2024).
Reflecting on the changes, Dr. Karl Lamprecht said: “Prior to the upcoming contract extension, I realised that now is the right time to focus more on my personal interests. Thanks to important strategic decisions, ZEISS can successfully continue its dynamic growth trajectory with double-digit revenue in the billions and healthy profitability. I would like to thank the Supervisory Board and all employees. It has always felt like a privilege to work for ZEISS.”
As part of the internal changes, Frank Rohmund, who heads the SMO strategic business unit, will succeed Pecher as a member of the Executive Board and take over leadership of the SMT segment from 1 January 2025.
Of Rohmund, Bolle said: “Frank Rohmund also has an excellent grasp of the industry and strong innovation expertise. With his deep knowledge of the semiconductor industry and his experience within the SMT leadership board, he is the right choice to successfully lead SMT in the long term.”
Other updates include five-year extensions to the contracts of Susan-Stefanie Breitkopf, Chief Transformation Officer, and Sven Hermann, Head of the Consumer Markets segment. Both Breitkopf and Hermann have been members of the Executive Board since 2022.
The decisions to keep and extend several board members' contracts has reflected a desire for continuity from ZEISS.
