Lufthansa Technik’s current COO Soeren Stark (top right) will become chairman of the executive board, replacing incumbent Dr. Johannes Bussmann (top left), who will leave the Lufthansa Group at his own request later this year.

Bussmann has spent more than seven years in his current role and 10 years on the executive board. After leaving Lufthansa Technik, he will become CEO of a major German technology company.

Stark has been a member of the executive board of Lufthansa Technik since 2019. He previously held a number of other executive functions at Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Technik. Subject to the approval of the supervisory board, he will assume his new role on 1 July 2022.

Bussmann said: “I look back with great gratitude on my years as chairman of the executive board and my 23-year career at Lufthansa Technik. We have achieved great things during this time. I am really proud to have been a part of this success story and to have had the opportunity to lead this company over the past seven years. The time has come for me to take on new responsibilities outside the aviation industry. It is a challenge that I am looking forward to tackling.”

Lufthansa Technik’s chairman of the supervisory board Dr. Detlef Kayser commented: “I would like to thank Johannes Bussmann for his outstanding work at Lufthansa Technik. He and his team have led the company safely through the crisis. Above all, he played a special role in the success and growth story that Lufthansa Technik has written in recent years. I therefore wish him all the best for the future.”

Commenting on the appointment of Stark, Kayser said: “Soeren Stark has distinguished himself in various positions in our group and achieved much. At Lufthansa Technik, he has demonstrated his abilities as an excellent manager as he developed our worldwide overhaul network and played a key role in the restructuring work performed during the corona crisis, among other areas. With his high level of expertise, experience and leadership, he will lead Lufthansa Technik successfully into the future.”

Kayser noted his belief that the early succession arrangement would “ensure continuity at the top of Lufthansa Technik. It is a decision that will enable the company to defend and expand its position as the world’s leading provider of technical services.”