Semperit: Helmut Sorger appointed as new CFO – Petra Preining resigns from her CFO mandate

Vienna, Austria, 30 August 2022 - Helmut Sorger (44), most recently CFO of the North America division of the publicly listed company Wienerberger AG, will be taking over as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Semperit Group on 1 October 2022. He will be succeeding Petra Preining (49), who is resigning from her position prematurely as she moves on to a new professional challenge. The Supervisory Board of Semperit AG Holding has acknowledged her decision with great regret and has approved the mutually agreed termination of her contract with effect from 30 September 2022. Looking ahead, the Supervisory Board is excited about the prospect of working with Helmut Sorger. 

“We are very lucky to have found such an excellent new CFO for the Semperit Group in Helmut Sorger. He brings relevant technical expertise and management skills to the table on top of extensive international experience in areas such as strategic transformation and mergers and acquisitions”, says Herbert Ortner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Semperit AG Holding. “Together with CEO Karl Haider and COO Kristian Brok, Helmut Sorger will ensure that the course taken is continued and push forward with the roll-out of our industrial strategy.”

Holding a doctorate in social sciences and economics, Helmut Sorger began his career as a research assistant and university lecturer at the Institute for Quantitative Management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He made the move to Wienerberger in 2007, where he took on a number of management positions within the area of finance in Austria and abroad. He became the North America CFO in 2015. “After working in the USA for several years, I’m delighted to be able to help shape the future of this long-standing international company with Austrian roots as part of an experienced management team. Working hand in hand with the employees, whose great innovative spirit and commitment are essential to the company’s success, we will continue to forge ahead with the group’s ongoing realignment. Semperit finds itself in an interesting phase of its development in a challenging economic environment. Going forward, I’ll be drawing on my past experience to the best of my ability to contribute to the next level of the company’s transformation”, says the future CFO of Semperit.

Chairman of the Supervisory Board Herbert Ortner adds: “Petra Preining took on the role of CFO, initially on a temporary basis, during extraordinarily challenging times at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. She has contributed massively to the successful further development of the Semperit Group since then. On behalf of my colleagues, I would like to thank her for all her hard work and the outstanding results she has achieved. She has gone above and beyond what anyone could ever expect of a CFO.” In the autumn of 2021, Preining took over CEO responsibilities jointly with COO Kristian Brok on an interim basis.

About Semperit

The publicly listed company Semperit AG Holding is an internationally oriented group that develops and produces highly specialised polymer products for the industrial and medical sectors, selling them in over 100 countries around the world: hydraulic and industrial hoses, conveyor belts, escalator handrails, construction profiles, cable car rings, products for railway superstructures, and examination and surgical gloves. Founded in 1824, this long-standing Austrian company has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The Semperit Group employs around 7,000 people worldwide, including some 3,800 in Asia and approximately 900 in Austria (Vienna and production site Wimpassing, Lower Austria). The Group has 16 manufacturing facilities worldwide and numerous sales offices in Europe, Asia, Australia, and America. In 2021, the Group generated revenue of EUR 1,182.2 million and an EBITDA of EUR 361.8 million.