Steiff Announces Appointment of New Chairman of the Board
GIENGEN AN DER BRENZ, GERMANY (JULY 20, 2018) —
STEIFF GROUP, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium toy and high-tech valve technology, today announced the appointment of Jan-Patrick Schmitz as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
This follows previous Chairman Peter Hotz’s resignation and appointment as the interim CEO of the group earlier this year. Mr. Schmitz has been a Board member of the Company for over seven years and the Vice Chairman for the past two years. His appointment as Chairman provides continuity of the Board of the Company as it seeks to take advantage of new and developing opportunities. Jan-Patrick Schmitz commented: “The new Board has endorsed the Company’s current strategy and is looking forward to the continuing development of our brand. Steiff has been the trusted friend and companion of generations of children. The brand is the global leader in premium soft toys. With the thoughtful expansion into children fashion and shoes, Steiff provides parents more choices of safe products for children. Our Alligator brand continues to be on the forefront of pressure control technology.”
Mr. Schmitz brings to the Board a combination of expertise in strategic business leadership and brand development. He is an experienced director and holds a BA in International Economics and a Master of Business Administration. He is the President & CEO of Muirbury & Co and the from CEO of Montblanc North America. For over a decade he was a member of the global executive leadership of Montblanc International, a Richemont Luxury Group brand. He is the former Executive Chairman of Lifefactory. He currently serves on the board of Thornwillow Press and the German American Chamber of Commerce in New York.
ABOUT STEIFF
Steiff was founded by Margarete Steiff in 1880. Twelve years later, the company applied for a Patent ‘for making of animals and other figures to serve as playthings’ which eventually become the world’s most renowned Teddy Bear. Today, the brand is distributed in 40 countries around the world.
The company achieved many technological milestones, also outside the toy world, including the Roloplan, a kite designed to take aerial photographs. The innovation and engineering capabilities of Steiff eventually resulted in the formation of Alligator. The Alligator brand engineers, manufactures and distributes high-tech valves and sensor systems for automotive, trucks, marine vessels, agricultural machines and construction vehicles. The company operates manufacturing plants in Germany and Poland and has subsidiaries in North America and throughout Asia.
Learn more at https://www.steiff.de.
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