Anders Wilhjelm (President)
Anders Wilhjelm is the President of the Board of the Process Engineering Segment of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft. He joined GEA Niro in 2008 as President of the company. Anders is a Danish national, born on 1 July, 1966. He holds an MSc in Forestry, together with an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management in the US. He started his professional career at Carlsberg and, after a period with McKinsey in England, he joined Danisco in 1998, where he held several executive positions.
Tom Wrensted (Executive VP & CFO)
Tom Wrensted is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for GEA Processing Engineering. Tom is a 44 years old and a Danish national. He holds an M.Sc. in Economics and Business Administration. Before joining GEA Process Engineering, Tom was in a similar position as CFO and a member of the Executive Board of Denmark's Brdr. Hartmann A/S, a company specialised in the manufacturing and supply of moulded fibre packaging and listed on OMX Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Since 2007, he has been part of the successful turnaround of the Hartmann Group. Initially, Tom started his career as a financial controller in Denmark's Ecco in 1993. In 1996, he joined Denmark's Danfoss A/S, where he held financial management positions in the Philippines and Japan. In 2002 he became finance director at ISS Healthcare in Denmark, but soon took on a new international challenge at Brdr. Hartmann A/S as VP of Finance and Administration for the company's operations in North America. He stayed in the position for three years until his promotion to the Executive Board at Brdr. Hartmann A/S in 2007.
Steve Kaplan
Steve Kaplan is a Member of the Board of the Process Engineering Segment of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, with responsibility for GEA Process Engineering Inc, the Barr-Rosin Group and GEA Process Engineering de Mexico. He joined GEA Process Engineering Inc in 1976 as a Sales Engineer and has held a variety of management positions within the Company, becoming President of GEA Process Engineering Inc in 1992. Steve is a US national, born on 30 September, 1951. He holds a BE degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology (1973) and a Masters degree in Business Administration from Loyola College (1980). He is responsible for the Americas and the strategic business area Evaporation & Crystallization within the GEA Process Engineering business segment.
Heinz-Jürgen Kroner
Heinz-Jürgen Kroner is a Member of the Board of the Process Engineering Segment of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft. He came to GEA Brewery Systems in 1998, was appointed Managing Director in 1999, and in 2001 assumed the overall responsibility for GEA’s activities in the brewery and beverage industries. He was previously Managing Director of APV Germany. Heinz-Jürgen is a German national, born on 7 April, 1964. He holds an Engineering degree in Brewery Science from the German Technical University of Munich. He is responsible for Eastern Europe and the strategic business area Brewery & Beverage within the GEA Process Engineering business segment.
Joachim Haase
Joachim Haase is a Member of the Board of the Process Engineering Segment of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft. He joined GEA in 1998 and was appointed as Managing Director of GEA TDS GmbH in 1999. He has worked for Tetra and in the brewery business before and can look back on more than 30 years of experience within the food & liquids industry. Joachim is a German national, born on 28 February, 1950. He holds a degree in Engineering from the Carolo-Whilhelmina University of Braunschweig. He is responsible for Europe and the strategic business areas Liquid Processing and Dairy, Food & Juice within the GEA Process Engineering business segment.
Kristian Skaarup
Kristian Skaarup is a Member of the Board of the Process Engineering Segment of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft. He joined GEA in 1983 and was appointed Vice President of the Food and Dairy Division of GEA Niro in 2002. Since 2003 he has also been Executive Vice President in GEA Niro. He has more than 25 years of experience within the food & dairy industry. Kristian is a Danish national, born on 25 February, 1957. He holds a B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering degree from Copenhagen Technical College. He is responsible for Australia & New Zealand and the strategic business area Drying and Powder Systems within the GEA Process Engineering business segment.
Steve Tzuoo
Steve Tzuoo is a Member of the Board of the Process Engineering Segment of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft. He joined GEA in January 2001 and is the Managing Director of GEA Process Engineering China Ltd and Managing Director of GEA Process Engineering (SEA) Pte Ltd. He has worked for companies such as Allison Gas Turbine, Textron Lycoming, SJZ Refrigeration Equipment Co Ltd and Tetra Pak Hoyer, and has worked for more than 25 years in the engineering industry. Steve is an American national, born on the 21 July, 1956. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in the USA. He is responsible for Asia within the GEA Process Engineering business segment.
Erik Anker Nielsen
Erik Anker Nielsen is a Member of the Board of the Process Engineering Segment of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft. He joined GEA in January 2002 and is the Vice President of Human Resources. Before joining GEA Erik was Head of Human Resources Development at Carl Bro Consulting Engineers. Previously he has worked with human resources in developing countries with overseas postings in Indonesia and Thailand. Erik is a Danish national, born on the 4 August, 1958. He holds an MSC in Economics from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Denmark. He is responsible for Human Resources within GEA Process Engineering.
Niels Erik Olsen
Niels Erik Olsen is Executive Vice President in GEA Process Engineering at GEA Niro core technology center. His main responsibilities are the Chemical and Pharmaceutical businesses, along with support function responsibilities as a member of the board of directors. At GEA Process Engineering Segment level he is in charge of the Emission Control Strategic Business Unit and a member of the Chemical Drying Systems board since 2004. He is a Danish national and holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark. He joined GEA Niro in 1991 as a Project Engineer. Since 1995 he has held different management positions at various locations in Asia and the US. After returning to Denmark in 2002 he was promoted to Vice President in the Chemical Division at GEA Niro in 2004 and promoted again in 2007 to the position of Executive Vice President in GEA Process Engineering.
Massimo Beretta
Massimo Beretta is Managing Director for GEA Procomac Spa in Parma, Italy and also a member of the Process Engineering Board. He joined GEA Process Engineering in 2007. Massimo is an Italian national. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy. He held different positions before he joined GEA – the last as General Manager for Ocme, a company based in Parma that manufactures packaging equipment for the beverage, food and tissue industries. He started his career at Techint Group in Milan.
Ron Youngs
Ron Youngs is President for
GEA Pharma Systems and a member of the Process Engineering Board. He joined Niro Ltd in 1979. Ron was born in 1952 and is a UK national. He holds a degree in Science from the University of London. He has held different positions since he joined Niro Ltd – the last as Division President for the GEA Pharma Systems Division before it was merged with the Process Engineering business segment. He started his career at Wimpey in the UK.