NORMA Group has recruited Dr Daniel Heymann (pictured right) as Chief Operating Officer (COO), with effect from 1 May 2023.
Heymann succeeds Dr Friedrich Klein (pictured left) who will step down from the Management Board on 30 April 2023. The Supervisory Board and Dr. Friedrich Klein have mutually agreed that, in accordance with his own wishes, Dr. Klein will step down from his position on the Management Board and as COO early.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board Günter Hauptmann said: “With Dr Daniel Heymann, we have managed to attract a highly innovative and quality-conscious leader. He is very familiar with the German, European and global industrial business. We are confident that Dr. Heymann, together with the other members of the Management Board, will work energetically to move NORMA Group forward.”
Dr Daniel Heymann has extensive management experience in the industry and has been responsible for the global operating business for vehicle interiors as Executive Vice President at Dräxlmaier Group since 2020. The Dräxlmaier Group is an international automotive supplier with about 65 sites in over 20 countries. The company generated sales of EUR 4.6 billion in 2021.
Dr Heymann previously held various positions within the Group, including General Manager of a production plant and COO for component manufacturing, where his responsibilities also covered battery management systems for electric vehicles. He has successfully evaluated processes and capacities in production on several occasions over the course of his career and optimised them in line with lean management principles. In doing so, he explicitly focused on customer orientation, continuous improvement and internal change management. Dr Heymann is a German national who started his professional career with an apprenticeship as a carpenter. He graduated with a degree in engineering and a doctorate from the Technical University of Dresden
His predecessor, Dr Friedrich Klein, has been responsible for operations, IT and purchasing at NORMA Group as Chief Operating Officer since October 2018.
Günter Hauptmann: “On behalf of the entire Supervisory Board, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Friedrich Klein for the work he has done for NORMA Group. Dr. Klein has been instrumental in laying the foundations for the global harmonisation of processes in resource planning and purchasing. He successfully managed the operational challenges we have faced in recent years, including the production interruptions caused by the pandemic. We wish him all the best for the future.”
The Supervisory Board has also ensured continuity on the Management Board and extended the contract of Chief Financial Officer Annette Stieve (centre) by three years until the end of September 2026. Günter Hauptmann: “We are very happy that Annette Stieve has extended her contract. We have great confidence that she will continue to put her expertise to work contributing to the sustainable profitable growth of NORMA Group.”
The news closely follows NORMA's latest financial statement, which revealed growth (in 2022) despite "severe headwinds".
