Friedhelm Loh Group announces new member of the Board of Directors

The Friedhelm Loh Group is realigning its group of companies for the future. The global player, based in Haiger, Hesse, is expanding its Board of Directors to achieve this. Prof. Dr. Niko Mohr will join the board, which currently consists of owner and Chairman Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Loh and CFO Ralph Lindackers. In addition, he will take over as CEO of Rittal International and Rittal Software Systems on November 1, 2024. The companies of the Friedhelm Loh Group are globally successful, with innovative system solutions for control, switchgear and machine building, as well as in the growth sector of IT infrastructure and cutting-edge industries such as energy and power.

Haiger, 2024-10-11 – The Friedhelm Loh Group has a new member at the executive level: Prof. Dr. Niko Mohr, a long-standing McKinsey partner, will join the Group's Board of Directors on November 1, 2024. The Group has over 12,500 employees worldwide in the companies Rittal, Eplan, Cideon, German Edge Cloud, Stahlo, LKH and Loh Services. Prof. Dr. Mohr will also take over the role of CEO of Rittal International and Rittal Software Systems (Eplan and Cideon).

The Friedhelm Loh Group has expanded its Board of Directors in response to rapid market changes and the growing demand for industrial solutions integrating software and hardware from a single source. These solutions are developed, manufactured and sold worldwide by the Group companies. In particular, the solutions from global market leaders Rittal and Eplan are unique as efficiency drivers in the market.

Prof. Dr. Niko Mohr is joining the Friedhelm Loh Group from top management consultancy McKinsey & Company. As a strategy consultant, he has more than 25 years of experience in implementing complex strategy, transformation and digitization projects at top management level in a range of industries. Most recently, he was Senior Expert Partner at McKinsey and part of the leadership team at McKinsey Digital. He was responsible for a large number of global industry, IoT and AI projects in well-known companies.

Prof. Dr. Mohr takes over the CEO role at Rittal and RSS from Markus Asch, who will leave the group as planned at the end of the month and take on a new challenge outside the group: “I look back on the past few years with great gratitude,” said Asch. “I am grateful for the trust of our customers and partners, for the collaboration with Prof. Dr. Loh, the executives of Eplan, Rittal and Cideon, and the employees of the group. It was a great honor and pleasure for me to work together with them to bring important innovations in software and hardware to market as growth drivers and to focus the companies internationally on our customers and their value chains, as well as on the specific needs of the markets.”

Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Loh emphasized: “I would like to thank Mr. Asch for his strong contribution to the consistent development of the group companies, particularly in implementing customer and market orientation worldwide. We wish Mr. Asch all the best, personally and professionally, for an exciting and fulfilling future.”

Regarding the changes to the group's board of directors, Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Loh said: “I am delighted that in Prof. Dr. Mohr we have been able to win a proven expert in the strategic alignment and transformation of companies in the international industry and technology environment. In his impressive career, his core tasks have included setting up complex organizations for future success and consistently focussing them on growth.”

Prof. Dr. Mohr expressed his anticipation of the tasks ahead: “I see great opportunities for growth for the Friedhelm Loh Group and its customers, which must be seized with speed and determination. One of the Group's great strengths is the uniqueness of its companies in the market. They are united by customer focus, great innovative strength and a passion for technologically superior system solutions. In particular, the close integration of hardware and software impresses me greatly, because it is crucial for future business success. I look forward to the responsible task of working with the owner and the Executive Board to further advance the companies for our customers and employees.”