Lonza it comes to a surprising change in the top management of the group. Richard Ridinger, who has guided the fortunes of the pharmaceutical supplier and fine chemicals manufacturer, successfully for seven years, resigned at his own request. Something in the Background, also on Wednesday announced financial figures entered.
Ridinger is already replaced in four weeks of Marc Funk, head of Lonza pharmaceuticals & Biotech. Radio leads the division in 2014, and led to a restructuring to strong growth and very high profitability. This experience has prepared him to view Ridinger very well to his new role.
“He is for me the clearest most suitable successor,” said this in Basel in front of the media. Radio could tackle the next growth steps of the Lonza, with no training time. “This is ideal,” said Ridinger.
track record
Ridinger, joined in may 2012 in a one of the brands of Lonza. His predecessor Stefan Borgas had been released a few months earlier. Pharmaceutical companies, for the Lonza ingredients making, postponed their orders, or cancelled them altogether, which resulted in some “profit warnings”. To the strong Swiss franc, which impacted the plant in Visp in the Canton of Valais came.
Borgas was a Failure but, above all, to the expectations he had stoked, but then could not meet. Under Ridinger of the operational and financial Turnaround was achieved not least thanks to a stronger customer and market orientation of the business. An important component of the rehabilitation of the main Lonza site in Visp.
Ridingers track record of success: Was dropped In 2011 Lonzas gain by almost half, to 154 million francs, the company’s seven year later, to a Surplus of 659 million. And the turnover has doubled in this period, from almost 2.7 billion to about 5.5 billion Swiss francs.
lawyer the following chemists
The outgoing Lonza-in-chief shares the flowers with his successor: “Marc Funk has accompanied me during these seven years, and me in particular, helped the Turnaround in the pharmaceutical area.” The Situation was “completely desolate,” said Ridinger in conversation with AWP. “We have cleaned up the area, and Marc has developed it further,” said Ridinger.
Thus, the two years younger, a lawyer, radio from Geneva follows in the case of Lonza to the skilled chemical engineer Ridinger (60) from Germany. This will guide Lonza in his own style, the strategic direction will not change much, such as radio, said on the sidelines of the media conference, AWP.
Literally, he said: “Qui trop embrasse mal étreint” – “he who kisses too much embraces badly”. So radio wants to Express: Lonza remains focused. In the next few years, big investment projects – for example, in the Canton of Valais. As more large acquisitions were excluded for the foreseeable future.
“back to even Understand the Valais dialect”
Ridinger looks back on “seven very interesting years”, but is delighted at his new tasks, he sees in the future, especially in the non-Executive area. An important conclusion from his Lonza-time: do you Invest in the right business models, the Switzerland also a great production site.
“I don’t understand, in the meantime, even the whole of the Valais dialect,” said Ridinger, without Pride. During his first tour of the plant in Visp, seven years ago, he had yet to understand a single word.
And he had learned quickly: “The responsibility of Lonza, in the Valais, far beyond the plant and the location.” And this sense of obligation, he parts with his successor. “I’m not going to completely disappear from Switzerland,” promised the outgoing Lonza head a little wistfully.
the stock market Also regret the success of the last years is obvious: Just under 90 minutes prior to the end of the Lonza Securities have lost around 8 percent.
(oli/sda)
Created: 30.01.2019, 16:58 PM
