Verena Bahlsen, great-granddaughter of Bahlsen founder Hermann Bahlsen, will leave the Bahlsen company at the end of the year. In a very emotional post on the LinkedIn careers network, she once again thanked all employees. The 29-year-old also wrote about the various worries, fears and crises that accompanied her in her leadership role at the biscuit company in the past.
There were “moving eureka moments,” but “we also had some disappointments.” “Every time I’m in a supermarket now, I go to the aisle with the biscuits,” continues Verena Bahlsen. “I’m standing there, alone in any Edeka, and I know how much work has gone into each brand, and I feel proud.”
“You know, I’ve often felt embarrassed when you’ve seen me in moments of fear, of being overwhelmed, or of insecurity.” However, she believes those moments “of not being my best self added depth to our relationship “. “I was standing in a German wheat field with our CEO and had a panic attack. I cried in many meetings. I was rude or impatient at times, interrupting people when I should have been listening, or cold and hard when I should have stayed soft.”
Verena Bahlsen previously worked in a four-person management team as Chief Mission Officer at the family business, which is particularly well-known for its Leibniz biscuits, and was tasked with supporting the company’s transformation. There were also several violent differences of opinion in the family about the orientation.
The 29-year-old became known to the public throughout Germany when she said about forced laborers at Bahlsen in World War II: “We paid the forced laborers just like the Germans and treated them well”. This was later refuted by “Time”.
She had also countered critics of capitalism: “I am a capitalist. I want to make money and buy sailing yachts with my dividends and stuff like that”, which didn’t go down well with everyone either.
She writes that she is leaving the company for personal reasons. She doesn’t yet know what to do next. She is interested in brand strategies. She would like to learn to write and do an internship on a film set. Alexander Kühnen, who currently heads Carl Kühne KG, will become CEO at Bahlsen. However, Verena Bahlsen remains a shareholder.
