Change in the SICK AG Executive Board - Markus Vatter, Executive Board member for Finance, steps down after 17 years

Waldkirch – SICK AG, an international sensor company based in Waldkirch near Freiburg, Germany, has just announced a change in its Executive Board: by the end of the year at the latest, Markus Vatter, Executive Board member for Finance & IT at SICK AG, will step down after 17 years to focus on his duties in connection with various supervisory board committees. In addition, the company has reported that Jan-Helmut Eberhardt has been appointed to the Executive Board of SICK AG by the Supervisory Board. Eberhardt will seamlessly take over the Executive Board Portfolio Finance & IT.  

“I’d like to sincerely thank Markus Vatter for his long years of service. During his seventeen years on the Executive Board, he has made key contributions to the company’s stability. I wish him all the best for the future, both privately and professionally,” says Dr. Robert Bauer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at SICK AG. “At the same time, I wish Jan-H. Eberhardt a good start at SICK and every success in his new position. We look forward to working with him and are convinced that he will continue to drive forward the company’s sustainable strategy in the areas Finance & IT.”

Markus Vatter joined SICK AG as an Executive Board member on July 1, 2006, having previously served as Managing Director for KaVo Dental GmbH. In his time as an Executive Board member at SICK AG, the industrial engineer by training strengthened the company’s internationalization strategy, substantially expanded its IT infrastructure, and in so doing, accompanied SICK on its evolution from a sensor manufacturer to a provider of software-based solutions for industrial automation. After more than two decades in managerial and executive board positions, the 56-year-old has decided to embark on the next phase of his career and solely invest his expertise in the supervisory board committees of several technology companies. 

Jan-H. Eberhardt to take over Executive Board duties for Finance & IT

The Executive Board Portfolio Finance & IT will pass from Markus Vatter to Jan-H. Eberhardt, who has been appointed to the Executive Board by SICK’s Supervisory Board. An economist by training, Eberhardt was born in Kassel in 1980 and has held various responsibilities and management roles at the medical technology company B. Braun, including Group Vice President Corporate Accounting & Controlling (since 2017). 

“I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Markus Vatter for the good and trusting cooperation. Over the past 17 years, he has greatly contributed to our financial stability and internationalization, working in close collaboration with the members of the Executive Board and international subsidiaries to do so,” says Dr. Mats Gökstorp, Chairman of the Executive Board at SICK AG. “Jan-H. Eberhardt represents a highly competent and seasoned addition to our team. He has gained a wealth of practical experience at a significantly larger, more complex and globally operating company – experience that will be particularly valuable to us. I look forward to our stimulating collaboration.”

Following these changes, the members of the Executive Board at SICK AG will be as follows:

•  Dr. Mats Gökstorp, Chairman of the Executive Board and responsible for the Portfolios Products & Marketing, Legal, Governance & Compliance
• Jan-H. Eberhardt, Executive Board member for Finance & IT
• Feng Jiao, Executive Board member for Sales & Service
• Ulrike Kahle-Roth, Executive Board member for Supply Chain & Fulfillment
• Nicole Kurek, Executive Board member for People & Culture
• Dr. Niels Syassen, Executive Board member for Technology & Digitalization