GERMANY. Gebr. Heinemann has announced the next stage in its generational transition effective from 1 January 2027, with the Supervisory Board and Executive Board realigned to further advance the long-term direction, leadership and development of the company.
On the Supervisory Board, Max Heinemann, part of the fifth generation of family ownership, will take the seat of his father, Gunnar Heinemann, who is stepping down at his own request.
Long-time Co-Owner Claus Heinemann will remain a member of the Supervisory Board as a shareholder. The shareholder family will continue to be represented on the board responsible for the company’s long-term strategic direction, key business policy decisions and the oversight and support of the Executive Board, noted a statement.
Raoul Spanger will also be appointed to the Supervisory Board and, alongside Max Heinemann as Chairman, will serve as Deputy Chairman.
In related moves, the Executive Board will be realigned from the new year. Morgan Boeri will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), joining an experienced and strong Executive Board with Inken Callsen as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Florian Seidel as Chief Sales Officer (CSO) and Dr. Kai Deneke as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
The previous structure, with Max Heinemann and Raoul Spanger as Co-CEOs, will be dissolved.
“With this new structure, we are continuing a transition that we have prepared responsibly and with great respect for the history of our company,” said Claus Heinemann.
“My cousin Gunnar, with whom I have worked in close friendship for decades, has shaped Gebr. Heinemann and, together with me, guided its development into an international player in travel retail. For this, he deserves our great thanks.
“At the same time, we are now creating the conditions for the next generation to take on additional responsibility and for Gebr. Heinemann to continue developing with clearly defined roles and unchanged values.”
“Gebr. Heinemann has been and remains far more than a company to me. It is part of our family, our responsibility and our conviction that long-term thinking and entrepreneurial courage belong together,” said Gunnar Heinemann.
“I am very pleased that my son Max, after his formative years as CEO, is now taking on this role on the Supervisory Board and leading the family business into a successful future.
“At the same time, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Raoul Spanger, who has shaped the Executive Board over many years with great experience, reliability and entrepreneurial perspective. The fact that Max and Raoul will bring their perspectives to the Supervisory Board together in the future sends a strong signal of continuity and future viability for Gebr. Heinemann.”
Max Heinemann joined the family business in 2006, built Heinemann Asia Pacific in Singapore starting in 2010, and joined the Executive Board in Hamburg in 2018.
He will bring the family’s long-term perspective to the role of Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said a statement. Raoul Spanger will complement the Supervisory Board with operational experience, international market expertise and deep company knowledge.
“Gebr. Heinemann is a family business with a strong identity and, at the same time, an international player in a dynamic market,” said Max Heinemann.
“For me, this step reflects the responsibility of the shareholder family: From the Supervisory Board, I will support the long-term vision of the Heinemann Group, our global expansion and our capacity for innovation.
“With the new structure of the Supervisory Board and Executive Board, we are also creating a clearer separation between strategic direction and operational leadership, thereby strengthening our governance structure. This setup gives us the clarity and stability we need for the next phase of development.”
Incoming CEO Morgan Boeri brings retail and wholesale experience and a track record of leadership from companies such as Louis Vuitton, adidas and, most recently, Dyson, noted the Gebr. Heinemann statement.
The new setup combines additional external leadership experience with continuity and the deep company knowledge of the existing Executive Board, the company added.
“Gebr. Heinemann is entering a phase in which clear roles, decisiveness and execution strength are particularly important,” said Raoul Spanger.
“Together with Inken, Florian and Kai, Morgan will shape the next phase of development for Gebr. Heinemann. I look forward to contributing my experience to the Supervisory Board in the future and supporting the Executive Board strategically – so that we can consistently drive change while preserving what makes Gebr. Heinemann strong: entrepreneurship, partnership, trust and reliability.”
The company paid further tribute to Gunnar Heinemann as “an entrepreneurial figure” who is stepping down from the Supervisory Board having shaped Gebr. Heinemann for nearly five decades.
From 1979 he represented the fourth generation of the Heinemann family together with Claus Heinemann.
The statement added, “Gunnar Heinemann has been a dedicated ambassador for his company and the Heinemann values. Customers, as well as employees, have always been especially important to him.
“He understood trust as the foundation of long-term relationships and reliable partnerships. Another defining characteristic was his ability to combine entrepreneurial continuity with a willingness to change – for example, in the internationalisation of the business or in responding to market changes such as the end of the intra-EU duty-free business.
“Beyond the company itself, Gunnar Heinemann has also helped shape the industry. As a founding member and long-standing president of the German Travel Retail Association, he was committed to the industry’s regulatory framework.”
His work has been recognised in Hamburg and internationally, including with Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Hamburg Entrepreneurial Awards and the Frontier Awards, as well as the Legends Wings of Help Award.
With the new structure of the Supervisory Board and Executive Board, Gebr. Heinemann is continuing the transition from the fourth to the fifth generation while also “strengthening the conditions for the company’s strategic business development into a global Heinemann Group”, the statement concluded. ✈
