Peter Pfeilschifter to leave HOCHDORF Swiss Nutrition Ltd - Ralph Siegl appointed CEO

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

Hochdorf, 21 January 2022 – Peter Pfeilschifter, CEO and Managing Director Food Solutions, has decided to leave the company. As Delegate of the Board of Directors, Ralph Siegl will take over the CEO function.

Peter Pfeilschifter has decided to leave the HOCHDORF Group to take on new professional challenges. Peter Pfeilschifter started as Managing Director Food Solutions in 2018 and took over as CEO of HOCHDORF Swiss Nutrition Ltd one year later. He was also Managing Director Baby Care since 2020. Before joining HOCHDORF, the trained economist and organizational scientist headed Uckermärker Milch GmbH in Prenzlau, Germany.

Delegate of the Board of Directors, Ralph Siegl will take over as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. He has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2020 and is Chairman of the Market and Strategy Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee. Ralph Siegl is an independent management consultant and partner of Experts for Leaders AG in Zurich. His previous positions include CEO of Confiseur Läderach AG and Managing Director of the Läderach Group from 2006 to 2018. Prior to that, he held various management positions at Nestlé in Switzerland and Australia for ten years, most recently as Vice President Export with responsibility for the Milk Powder, Baby Care and Chocolate segments, among others. He thus has a wealth of experience in the international food sector and is familiar with complex management tasks.

The Board of Directors intends to use the change in management as an opportunity to drive forward the strategic development of the company into the technologically leading Swiss supplier of high-quality baby food and functional nutritional specialties even more consistently. As announced, this includes concentrating production at the Sulgen site and developing Sulgen into a competence center for "Smart Nutrition".

The Board of Directors would like to express its thanks and appreciation to Peter Pfeilschifter for his great commitment to the further development and initiation of the strategic realignment of the HOCHDORF Group and wishes him all the best for his future career. 

About the HOCHDORF Group

HOCHDORF Group, which is listed on the Zurich Stock Exchange, achieved a consolidated net sales revenue of CHF 306.2 million in 2020. It is one of the leading foodstuff companies in Switzerland, employing 391 staff as of 31.12.2020. HOCHDORF is known for advanced processing expertise for high-quality raw materials, state-of-the-art production technology and the market-focused nutrition know-how of its employees. The company is therefore unique on the global market as a developer, manufacturer and marketer of specialist foods for people of all ages with specific nutritional requirements. Its portfolio offers solutions ranging from high-quality semi-finished products for the processing food industry to consumer products in the sensitive infant formula segment.