Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG: Change in Top Management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG  / Key word(s): Change of Personnel

19.07.2012 18:15

Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted
by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Change in Top Management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Bernhard Schreier will leave Heidelberg at the end of the year -
Supervisory Board appoints Dr. Gerold Linzbach as the new CEO

Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), will
not be extending his management contract when it expires midyear 2013 and
will be leaving the company at the end of 2012. He is handing over the
company's chairmanship after almost 13 years in charge. Over recent months,
key steps have been taken to set the company's new strategic course and a
start has been made on putting this into practice to return Heidelberg to
sustained profitable growth. What's more, the industry trade show drupa has
led to the highest quarterly incoming orders in four years for the first
quarter of financial year 2012/2013. The Supervisory Board and Schreier
himself feel now is the right time to make the change in order to create
new impetus at the very top of the company. The Supervisory Board
unanimously appointed Dr. Gerold Linzbach (56) as Heidelberg CEO with
effect from September 1, 2012. Schreier will ensure the transition goes
smoothly and will accompany the handover process up till the end of the
year.

Contact:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Public Relations
Thomas Fichtl  
Phone: +49 (0)6221 92 5900
Mobile: +49 (0)173 318 69 47
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 5069
E-Mail: thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com

Important note:
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions
and estimations by the Management Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the Management Board is of the opinion that
those assumptions and estimations are realistic, the actual future
development and results may deviate substantially from these
forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the
macro-economic situation, in the exchange rates, in the interest rates and
in the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft
gives no warranty and does not assume liability for any damages in case the
future development and the projected results do not correspond with the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release.


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Information and Explaination of the Issuer to this News:

Change in Top Management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Bernhard Schreier will leave Heidelberg at the end of the year -
Supervisory Board appoints Dr. Gerold Linzbach as the new CEO

Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), will
not be extending his management contract when it expires midyear 2013 and
will be leaving the company at the end of 2012. He is handing over the
company's chairmanship after almost 13 years in charge. Over recent months,
key steps have been taken to set the company's new strategic course and a
start has been made on putting this into practice to return Heidelberg to
sustained profitable growth. What's more, the industry trade show drupa has
led to the highest quarterly incoming orders in four years for the first
quarter of financial year 2012/2013. The Supervisory Board and Schreier
himself feel now is the right time to make the change in order to create
new impetus at the very top of the company. The Supervisory Board
unanimously appointed Dr. Gerold Linzbach (56) as Heidelberg CEO with
effect from September 1, 2012. Schreier will ensure the transition goes
smoothly and will accompany the handover process up till the end of the
year.

'I would like to thank Bernhard Schreier for his achievements as Heidelberg
CEO. In a career spanning a total of 37 years, 13 of them as CEO, he has
truly made his mark on the company and has succeeded in guiding it through
two major global economic crises and structural upheaval in the printing
industry. Particularly in very difficult recent times, he has helped
transform Heidelberg from a traditional press manufacturer into a solution
and service provider in the print media industry,' said Robert J. Koehler,
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.
'Heidelberg is a global market leader and is renowned worldwide for its
cutting-edge technology and customer proximity. In Dr. Gerold Linzbach, we
are delighted to have found a successor with international experience to
press ahead with the company's strategic reorientation and ensure its
return to profitability. Dr. Linzbach has many years of management and
capital market expertise, which will help pave the way for a successful
future at Heidelberg,' he added.

Dr. Gerold Linzbach (born in 1956) obtained a degree in chemistry and added
a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Dortmund in 1985.
Having started his career as the head of a research group at the DECHEMA
Institute in Frankfurt, he joined McKinsey in 1988 where he was in charge
of a variety of projects, primarily in the process industry. In 1991, Dr.
Linzbach became a member of Hoechst AG's corporate planning team and
subsequently took charge of this department. During this period, he was
part of the 'Aufbruch 94' team that laid the foundations for Hoechst AG's
new corporate structure. Four years later, he assumed the position of
global CEO of a business unit responsible for the company's fibers
operations (Trevira GmbH). In 1999, Dr. Linzbach played a leading role in
founding Aventis and went on to become global CEO and President of the
Celanese Acetate Group based in the United States until 2003. From 2003 to
2005, he was responsible for the textile fibers division INVISTA, also in
the United States.

On March 1, 2005, Dr. Linzbach was appointed Chairman and CEO of Symrise AG
in Holzminden, Germany. He successfully led it onto the stock market at the
end of 2006 and onto the MDAX in March 2007. Dr. Linzbach left the company
for personal reasons at the end of June 2009. He was subsequently appointed
CEO and Member of the Management Board of D+S Europe and its successor
companies in Hamburg.

Figure 1: Effective from September 1, 2012, Dr. Gerold Linzbach has been
appointed CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.

Figure 2: Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, will be
leaving the company at the end of 2012.

For further information about the company and image material, please visit
the Press Lounge
of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at www.heidelberg.com. 

For further information, please contact: 
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Public Relations
Thomas Fichtl
Phone: +49 (0)6221 92-5900
Mobile: +49 (0)173 318 69 47
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92-5069
E-Mail: thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com

Important note:
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions
and estimations by the Management Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the Management Board is of the opinion that
those assumptions and estimations are realistic, the actual future
development and results may deviate substantially from these
forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the
macro-economic situation, in the exchange rates, in the interest rates and
in the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft
gives no warranty and does not assume liability for any damages in case the
future development and the projected results do not correspond with the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

19.07.2012 DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

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Language:     English
Company:      Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
              Kurfürsten-Anlage 52-60
              69115 Heidelberg
              Germany
Phone:        +49 (0)6221 92-60 22
Fax:          +49 (0)6221 92-51 89
E-mail:       investorrelations@heidelberg.com
Internet:     www.heidelberg.com
ISIN:         DE0007314007
WKN:          731400
Indices:      SDAX
Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
              in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart
 
End of Announcement                             DGAP News-Service
 
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