New governance structure at Rodenstock
Two internationally-famous directors with long experience have joined Rodenstock: Oliver Kastalio is the new CEO and Peter Körfer-Schün is the new member of the Supervisory Board.
Oliver Kastalio held roles of considerable responsibility at Procter&Gamble, a global company in the consumer goods sector. For 19 years, he was in charge of product development, brand management, marketing, M&A, finance and sales. More recently, he was General Manager and Vice President of the Global Prestige Products division.
Peter Körfer-Schün was the CEO of Grohe AG until 2004. Under his leadership, this medium-sized company of Hemer, Sauerland, grew and became a global brand for the production and supply of bathroom fittings.
"Rodenstock managed to convince Kastalio, an expert in the top-quality consumer goods sector”, stated Peter Körfer-Schün, who worked as consultant for the selection of the right person for this directorship. Kastalio - German, but an adopted Genevan - left Procter&Gamble after having had international responsibility for luxury products and designer perfumes with the Hugo Boss, Baldessarini, Rochas, Dunhill, Montblanc, Lacoste, Escada and Jean Patou labels. His work included product development, production, logistics, marketing and sales, which reached a billion euros. His division employed over 2,000 people.
Kastalio summed up his philosophy: “In order to be successful in the brand management, it is necessary to carefully analyze consumer requests and present the market with the right products with creativity and sensitivity according to the spirit of the times. This will be my approach in Rodenstock". Rodenstock’s premium brand boasts a 130-year tradition made up of very high quality, innovation and the best know-how. “We want to renew these values that are part of the Rodenstock brand", Kastalio underscored. "We will continue to do what we are already doing, but we will also speed up winning approaches like internationalization and licenses. However, before developing a strategy, I think it is essential to interface with employees and directors and study the company thoroughly”, Kastalio concluded.
Peter Körfer-Schün announced that they have implemented a 100-day plan for the company’s further strategic development. “The Rodenstock brand has a unique potential for development”, he stated. “Rodenstock is the only global producer that combines high-precision lenses with a huge range of classic and elegant frames to create a unique vision system”.
