I Gruppi MEYER rafforzano la leadership; Bernd Eikens si unirà al team esecutivo di Meyer
Negli ultimi 228 anni, il Gruppo Meyer si è sviluppato da attore locale a globale nella costruzione navale specializzata. Questa crescita e sviluppo si basarono sull’iniziativa e sull’ingegno di generazioni di costruttori navali e della famiglia Meyer.
MEYER Groups strengthens leadership – Bernd Eikens to join Meyer Executive team
Papenburg/Turku,25.08.2023 –
MEYER In the past 228 years, Meyer Group has developed from a local to a global player in specialized shipbuilding. This growth and development was based on the initia-tive and ingenuity of generations of shipbuilders and the Meyer family. Time and time again, the company has had to reinvent itself to adapt to fundamental changes in the business environment. Also today, the Group is faced with new challenges that it will address by initiating “The New Meyer Way”, a structural reorganisation that will allow us to strengthen old and build new business opportunities.
As part of this initiative, we are happy to announce that Bernd Eikens will join the Meyer Group executive team as Group CEO. Bernd has worked in different management po-sitions for UPM-Kymmene for 25 years, since 2013 as a member of the group execu-tive team. His international career includes positions in the US, China, Germany and Finland. Most recently, he headed the successful implementation of a pulp mill project in Uruguay with an investment volume of USD 3.5 billion.
Bernd has been a member of the Meyer Turku advisory board since 2019 and, in this position, has become familiar with the shipbuilding industry in general and the Meyer Group in particular. He holds a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical Uni-versity of Darmstadt, a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Colorado State University and a MSc in Supply Chain Management from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Bernd Eikens will join the Meyer Group in December 2023.
Bernard Meyer: “Bernd Eikens is a perfect fit for our Meyer Group combining interna-tional leadership experience with a strong background in operations and project man-agement. Additionally, it is a great benefit that he has management experience in both Germany and Finland. We are looking forward to strengthening our management team with Bernd, whose experience in a large, multinational company will bring new impulses for our operations in the shipyards and the overall development of the Meyer Group.”
Bernd Eikens: “I am very much looking forward to joining the Meyer Group. The ship-yards are close to my heart and I am certain that my experience can be a valuable as-set for the Meyer Group and the New Meyer Way. As part of my board work for Meyer Group, I have become familiar with the issues of shipbuilding in Europe and I trust that we will form a strong team to address the challenges of the future.”
In order to account for the growing complexities of the present business environment, the Meyer Group will restructure its core leadership team. A Meyer Group Executive Board is established that will steer all activities and developments in the Meyer Group. This broader management allows the Meyer Group to strengthen its core business and to further develop new business opportunities.
Bernd Eikens as a group CEO will be in charge of global operations in shipbuilding and the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. Tim Meyer will be named Family speaker, representing the company towards shipbuilding customers and stakeholders. Additional-ly, he will continue as CEO of Meyer Turku Oy, a position he has held since 2020. Thomas Weigend will be named Chief Sales Officer and will lead the holistic customer interface and cross-yard capacity planning and will further develop the new business opportunities Meyer Floating Solutions and Meyer RE. Jan Meyer will oversee new business development centering around Neptun Werft shipyard and including the new Offshore Wind Business as well as overseeing technology development as the Chief Business Innovation Officer. The new business areas are expected to grow substantial-ly. After 50 years in company operations, Bernard Meyer, who just turned 75, will con-centrate on non-operational topics in the Advisory Board of the Meyer Group.
Jan Meyer: ”This structure is a commitment of the Meyer family to further develop and diversify our company. At the same time it takes the increasing complexity of our prod-ucts and maritime excellence into account. For the Shipbuilding operations, we will cap-ture synergies between our yards and further enhance the cooperation between them. Additionally, operational performance in each ship yard will be strengthened supported by our know-how and the existing professionalism of our employees in each location.”