WUSTHOF Appoints New Chairman and CEO

Jan-Patrick Schmitz is replacing Harald Wüsthof as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board of the WÜSTHOF Group. Viola Wusthof and Harald Wusthof made the announcement together in a letter to the company’s staff in which they said that they have been working closely with Schmitz for more than a year, and “during this time we have come to appreciate him as a person and a manager.”

The company plans to purse its strategic growth plan form a Solingen-based knife manufacturer to a global premium consumer brand, and Schmitz has the expertise and experience to lead that plan, according to the letter. Schmitz lives with his family in New Jersey and has strong ties with Germany. He has worked for the Montblanc Group, headquartered in Hamburg for more than 20 years and has been chairman of the advisory board for the Steiff Group for the past several years. He is also a board member of the German-American Chamber of Commerce in New York. “His special skills and international expertise are invaluable for our brand,” the Wüsthofs said in their letter to their employees. “He will continue to develop our corporate culture and, together with our organizations in Europe and North America expand our presence globally.”

Viola Wüsthof and Harald Wüsthof will now focus on their role as shareholders in the company and will continue to be ambassadors of the brand and to represent WÜSTHOF in public. WÜSTHOF will continue to be a Solingen-based family-owned company. Schmitz’s appointment was effective on January 1.