ASIA PACIFIC. Gebr Heinemann has named Marvin von Plato as Chief Executive Officer of Heinemann Asia Pacific, Johannes Sammann as Chief Operating Officer, and Audrey Tay Chief Financial Officer.
Gebr Heinemann Executive Director Purchasing, Fulfilment & Logistics Kay Spanger revealed the internal promotions at the now traditional Heinemann Cocktail Party in Singapore last night during the TFWA Asia Pacific show.
“We have confidence in the excellent people we have within our business. There you see what we call reliability and continuity that show the life in our business.” – Kay Spanger
The changes follow the recent announcement that current Heinemann Asia Pacific CEO Max Heinemann, son of co-owner Gunnar Heinemann, is to relocate from Singapore to company headquarters in Hamburg and become a board member. Max Heinemann, a fifth-generation representative of the family-held German travel retailer, has been Heinemann Asia Pacific CEO since January 2014.
Spanger told a packed room, “We have confidence in the excellent people we have within our business. So, the management of Heinemann Asia Pacific in the future will be with Marvin von Plato, formerly right hand of Max; Johannes Sammann, who has been our long-time Managing Director at Frankfurt Airport and in recent months in charge of our new joint venture at Frankfurt Airport; and Audrey Tay in the very important role of CFO.
“There you see what we call reliability and continuity that show the life in our business.”
Von Plato said, “A few years ago we would have said, ‘We are here to stay [in Asia Pacific]. Now we agree that’s a statement that we don’t need to put out anymore. We are here, we are well-established in Asia Pacific and we are proud that we have invested in important markets such as Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong to name a few. We are looking forward to making the next eight years as successful as the first eight*. With such a great team and all your support, we think that will be possible.
“We have grown in the last four years by about US$300 million in sales. We are confident that we can grow that business further and expand the footprint of Heinemann in the region.”
Sammann thanked the company’s partners and commented, “I can assure you that we’re not only here to stay but here to grow – and we will grow together with you.”
*Footnote: Heinemann Asia Pacific, headquartered in Singapore, was established in 2010 to represent the group in the Asia Pacific region.
