- Sonja Mechling takes over as Chief Marketing Officer and becomes Managing Director of the Heidelberg Digital Unit
- As CIO, Dr. Stefan Heizmann is the new head of IT
- Robert Franz is leading global sales in the Sales Operations unit
As it pursues its digital transformation, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is also making organizational changes. As of October this year, three key management positions will be filled by individuals with international experience from various industries. One of these new arrivals is Sonja Mechling, who is joining the company from Robert Bosch Smart Home GmbH and is taking over as Chief Marketing Officer at Heidelberg. She is also set to become Managing Director of the Heidelberg Digital Unit. Mechling is an acknowledged expert in e-commerce and in building up new business units and has many years of experience in Asia and around Europe.
As Chief Information Officer (CIO), Dr. Stefan Heizmann will be the company’s new head of IT. Heizmann is currently in charge of IT for the Gühring Group and in 2017 won the Industrial Internet Award for digital innovation presented by trade magazine CIO for his work in this role. As part of the Heidelberg team, he will use his experience in corporate IT, creating digital platforms, and developing new business models to implement the company’s digital transformation in the field of IT.
Robert Franz is a sales manager from Rittal with international experience, who will oversee global sales at Heidelberg in the Sales Operations unit. Franz has extensive experience in sales excellence and will be responsible for global Sales Operations and by extension for refocusing the organization at Heidelberg on digital omnichannel sales.
Sonja Mechling: Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director of the Heidelberg Digital Unit
Mechling’s most recent position was as a member of the Management Executive Board at Robert Bosch Smart Home GmbH, where she was in charge of marketing, sales, and the Business Operations unit. Working in Asia and Europe, she has gained more than 20 years of experience in management positions in e-commerce, marketing and sales, and in setting up start-up companies. It will be her job at Heidelberg to hit the ambitious growth targets based on e-commerce platforms, to continue developing a digital customer approach, and thus to provide extensive support for the new data-based business models.
Dr. Stefan Heizmann: Chief Information Officer in charge of IT
Having previously held several management positions, Dr. Heizmann was appointed CIO and CDO of the Gühring Group and put in charge of IT operations in 2012. As part of the company’s digital transformation, IT played a crucial role in reducing throughput times in production, tapping into new customer groups, and establishing indirect sales. Heizmann also developed an agile IT organization based on cutting-edge technology that focused first and foremost on new business models for the digital world.
Robert Franz: Leading global sales in the Sales Operations unit
As Head of Sales Operations, Franz will be responsible for the worldwide sales organization of Heidelberg. Having previously held several management positions at Honeywell and Rittal GmbH & Co.KG, the qualified lawyer was, until recently, President USA and Executive Vice President for the region of North and South America at the enclosure systems provider. His experience in sales will help propel the transformation of Heidelberg by introducing new, cutting-edge sales processes.