Switzerland based PV equipment manufacturer Meyer Burger Technology Ltd., will have a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on board, starting from October 1, 2018. He will take the place of current CFO Michel Hirschi, who 'decided to step down' from this job and leave the company after 12 years.
The new CFO Manfred Häner comes from CPH Chemie+Papier AG where he was also CFO between 2012 and 2016. Previously, he worked, among others, as CFO and deputy CEO of Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG.
"Manfred Häner has broad experience managing finance and IT functions in the industrial sector; in particular in public companies which are going through transformation processes," said CEO Hans Brändle. Adding, "Together with the Board and our current CFO, we have been collaborating on the succession for this key role since this spring and we are very pleased that with Manfred Häner we can ensure a seamless transition during this important phase for our company," he added.
Hirschi will also resign as a member of the Executive Board. Brändle thanked Hirschi for his achievements and contributions over the years and his strong support during the transition period initiated at the beginning of 2017.
Swiss media had reported that Meyer Burger's major shareholder Elbogross was pushing for a change of the CFO, who was considered part of the old era of former CEO Peter Pauli.
While Meyer Burger was able to return to profitability in the first half of 2018 after 7 years, the company said in its financial results that it was going in for more restructuring to safeguard long-term profitability. More of these details will be announced on October 16, 2018 (see Meyer Burger: Profitable & More Restructuring). Previously, it initiated restructuring measures in November 2017 that saw the management taking some key decisions as closing down Thun located production facility, outsourcing SWCT production and transferring its solar systems business, which have been key for becoming profitable again.