Burmester Audio systems
Announcement concerning changes to Burmester management
BERLIN, 14.11.2023
Dear Friends & Partners,
From January 1st 2024, Thorsten Poenig and Thomas Schneider will assume joint leadership at Burmester as co-CEOs. Together they bring a significant wealth of experience to areas such as sales, marketing, quality management, development and production to the leadership of Burmester, with extensive knowledge gained in previous senior managerial positions.
Thorsten Poenig, Burmester’s Chief Sales Officer since 2021, is a qualified mechanical engineer with outstanding industry knowledge, with the ability to translate this into product requirements and effective human and brand interaction. Following his position in an international consulting firm, he was responsible for establishing the sales structure and product management of the globally recognised brand Technics and subsequently consulted the Panasonic board regarding international strategies. Since 2022, Thomas Schneider has been responsible for the Quality Management department at Burmester and additionally took on the interim management of manufacturing in July 2023. Prior to this, he supported the Burmester Home Audio R&D team as an Engineering Consultant. Like Dieter Burmester, Thomas Schneider began his professional journey as an Audio-Visual technician, leading to qualification in Electronics and Communications Engineering. His effectiveness in organizational and process optimization, along with experience in implementing and leading international projects, make him the perfect complement to the joint management partnership.
Together, Poenig and Schneider will position the company optimally for all future challenges.
Frank Weise, who has been the Managing Director at Burmester since 2021, will leave the company at the end of the year with the expiration of his contract. Recognizing the relatively limited duration of Frank Weise’s appointment, the shareholders entered into early discussions for a succession plan, ensuring a seamless transition to the new management.
Another change occurs in the company’s development sector: After 18 years with the company, Stefan Größler, Burmester CTO since 2015, will leave the company by his own request. However, he will retain an open role as a consultant with Burmester.
Ralf Schmidt has been accompanying the development team for several months, structuring product developments, and will take over Stefan Größler’s responsibilities in the Home Audio development sector. With extensive experience leading development teams in various technical companies, he will continue the path initiated by Stefan.
Since 2015, Lutz Häußler has successfully led the R&D Automotive department and will now be the sole point of contact in this role. In the past, Häußler has already brought many positive contributions to the development team and, together with Ralf Schmidt, will further enhance collaboration between the Home and Automotive sectors, ensuring mutual knowledge transfer to benefit both areas.
“I am delighted that we were able to gain two leadership personalities with a high level of expertise in all aspects of business relevant to our company,” says Marianne Burmester, Managing Partner at Burmester. “I’m confidently optimistic regarding the future of the company with this senior management team, which with its proven wealth of experience and enthusiasm for the brand and High-End Audio, provides the best conditions for a bright future for Burmester. At the same time, I thank Stefan Größler for his dedication over the past 18 years. I am grateful for the many years we have shared, and I will cherish every step we have taken side by side.” Marianne Burmester, managing partner since the death of Dieter Burmester in 2015, will hand over the reins to the successors at the turn of the year and will solely dedicate herself to her responsibilities as a shareholder.