The contract for Dr. Frank Heislitz, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), is due to expire at year’s end, and he has informed the Supervisory Board well in advance that he is not available for another term for personal reasons. He therefore requested that his contract expire on December 31, 2026, and that he steps down from the Board of Management effective September 30, 2026, once his successor has been onboarded.
The Freudenberg Supervisory Board respects his decision. The Board’s members would especially like to thank Dr. Frank Heislitz for his trust and his cooperation. We are grateful for the major contributions he has made to the company’s development over the years. Under his auspices as CTO, he pressed ahead with innovation in the fields of globalization, digitalization and artificial intelligence. With his focus on sustainability, he supported yet another important step toward CO2 neutrality.
Dr. Heislitz studied mechanical engineering and earned his doctorate at the Technical University of Darmstadt. He has always been driven by true enthusiasm for technology and the question of how to make things better, more efficient, and more sustainable. Since joining Freudenberg in 2001, he has not only contributed his international leadership experience, in part from his time in China, but also his great passion for innovation and for the people he works with.
As CTO and later CEO of Freudenberg Performance Materials (FPM), he has left his mark on crucial developments. The Slovenian specialist Filc was integrated under his leadership culturally as well as technically. He considers it important to bring teams together and develop common strengths. The impact of the Low & Bonar PLC acquisition was just as important. With this step, he expanded Freudenberg’s technological foundation for the long term and opened up opportunities for growth.
To ensure an orderly transition, the Supervisory Board has already named Dr. Matthias Sckuhr as his successor. Dr. Sckuhr was brought onto the Management Board on July 1 and is assuming the CTO role held by Dr. Heislitz. To help with the transition, Dr. Heislitz is available in an advisory role until the end of September.
With the appointment, the future-oriented fields of engineering, data and artificial intelligence (AI) are being added to the CTO role. Freudenberg is pressing ahead with a targeted approach to its technology and strengthening its ability to innovate with a clear focus on engineering and artificial intelligence. This promotes technological excellence and accelerates the implementation of innovations in marketable products and solutions. Freudenberg wants to strengthen its primary fields for the future and bundle the integration of technology, engineering and artificial intelligence at the Board level.
Dr. Sckuhr has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive sector and general industry. He began his career as a project engineer at Freudenberg Research Services in 1997 before moving to a similar role at Vibracoustic in 2001. In 2003, he became the development manager for engine mounts and then took over as Lead Center Manager Engine Mounts. In 2012, he moved to Shanghai where he served as Regional Head Asia Pacific at Vibracoustic. In 2016, he was named Executive Vice President and took charge of Vibracoustic’s DRIVE Solutions Business Unit. In 2019, Dr. Sckuhr took over as CEO of Nedschroef in the Netherlands before returning to the Freudenberg Group as the CTO of FST in April 2021. He has a degree and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Karlsruhe University.
“We thank Dr. Frank Heislitz for his dedicated, professional work. With his technical expertise and strategic insight, he has set a crucial course for the future. We wish him well in his professional endeavors as well as personally,” said Mathias Thielen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Partners.
“By expanding the Management Board portfolio to include engineering, data and artificial intelligence, we are sending a clear strategic signal. Technological excellence, data-based innovation and the responsible use of AI are decisive factors for our future competitiveness. That’s why it is important to clearly anchor these fields at the Board level. I look forward to working with Dr. Sckuhr,” Mathias Thielen added.
The Board of Management of the Freudenberg Group will in future comprise the following members:
Claus Möhlenkamp (CEO), Thomas Herr (CFO), Esther Loidl (CHRO) and Dr. Matthias Sckuhr (CTO).
