
welcomes the new CEO Goetz Stamm. Image: Wilkhahn
In January 2025, Wilkhahn’s interim CEO is handing over the reins to Goetz Stamm, an experienced sales and marketing professional. The over 100-year-old, north German, family-run company has won multiple awards and is also internationally a prime example of German-made design.
Dr. Jochen Hahne was the third generation of his family to spearhead the company. After over two decades in the role, he had already stepped down as CEO in fall 2021 and switched to becoming chairman of the Wilkhahn supervisory board. Thomas Mänecke succeeded him as CEO. He left at the beginning of 2024, with an interim CEO running Wilkhahn for just under a year. The Wilkhahn supervisory board’s goal was to take time in finding a successor to remain in the position for some time to come.
At the end of 2024, the partners and supervisory board appointed Goetz Stamm as the new CEO.
Goetz Stamm is 54 and has a business adminstration degree. After a stint as a naval officer, his career took him from various management and executive positions throughout an American technology group in Germany, Europe, Africa and the Middle East to managing a mid-sized office-solutions company. He gained extensive, also international experience in industrial sectors (B2B), with public-sector customers (B2G) and in the consumer goods industry (B2C). He was involved in developing new markets, with digitalization and transformation projects as well as designing change and innovation processes.
“We were impressed by Goetz Stamm’s expertise, experience and resolution to take Wilkhahn to new heights. He gained this mix of highly professional skills within a successful group of companies. This expertise, which is typically so beneficial in the mid-sized sector, gives us full confidence that he can help us set the right course and reach our goals quickly,” says Dr. Hahne.
By the same token, the 54-year-old father of two sees enormous opportunities in helping to shape Wilkhahn’s future growth. “I’ve taken a deep dive into Wilkhahn. In terms of product developments, the company has always been a frontrunner in predicting issues such as agile working, health and sustainability and created exemplary office-environment solutions to match. I look forward to leveraging and developing this outstanding potential by using the latest methods and tools to grow Wilkhahn’s international markets.”
At the industry’s premier international trade show, Orgatec in Cologne in October 2024, Wilkhahn’s much-admired showcase again underscored its desire to be among the sector’s major global players.
The momentum created during the trade show is also reflected in initial earnings projections for 2024. In a volatile market, Wilkhahn increased market share and sales compared to the previous year despite challenging conditions.
Wilkhahn currently employs 450 people worldwide, 340 of whom work at headquarters in Bad Münder, Germany.