Jörg Wahlers appointed new Chief Financial Officer

On 8th August 2019, Jörg Wahlers, a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with both extensive experience and an entrepreneurial mindset, will complete the management team at international med-tech company Ottobock.

This will allow Philipp Schulte-Noelle – who has held the roles of both CFO and CEO since November 2018 – to focus on his role as Chief Executive Officer. Together with Professor Hans Georg Näder, Chairman of the Management Board, Schulte-Noelle will continue to place an intensive focus on developing the company’s future growth opportunities.

This will include digitising existing and new business models. Jörg Wahlers has previously implemented a number of transformations: “As a proven, cross-sector expert, he has knowledge of both family-owned companies as well as partnerships with private equity,” says Philipp Schulte-Noelle. “He has proven himself as an operationally clear-headed, organised and goal-oriented CFO who looks beyond the figures”.

Together with the entire Executive Board, Wahlers will use Ottobock’s strengths and develop them further with the aim of helping people to achieve greater mobility and quality of life as well as allowing the company to grow profitably over the long term. The Management Board is in agreement that Wahlers will help Ottobock make significant progress on the road to capital market readiness and the implementation of the goals set out in the company’s growth strategy. As CFO, Wahlers will be responsible not only for Finance and Corporate Audit & Risk Management but also for the key areas of IT and Business Process Management. “For me, the med-tech industry is an exciting new sector that I haven’t had much contact with so far. What I do have is a great deal of experience in the area of transformation processes, so I know how important flexibility is in every respect. As a result, I feel ideally prepared for the change to a new industry,” says Wahlers.

At 55 years of age, he joins Ottobock from outdoor specialist Jack Wolfskin, where he orchestrated the successful sale to Callaway in his role as CFO and COO. As a graduate in financial management, he gained financing and capital market experience at Villeroy & Boch, a company listed on the S-DAX stock market index. He has also held leadership positions at Escada (CFO and COO), Reckitt Benckiser and EFFEM, the pet food division of MARS.