Munich, July 5, 2010 - After a long career with Rohde & Schwarz spanning 35 years, including seven years on the Executive Board and five years as its Chairman, Michael Vohrer (62) has announced his retirement. An electrical engineer by profession, Vohrer played a key role in the company's success throughout the years. One of his major contributions was achieving market leadership in the field of mobile radio test and measurement when he headed that division. The company's entry into the oscilloscope market, which is now underway, marks the end of his long and productive career. As of July 1, 2010, his colleague Manfred Fleischmann will serve as President and CEO. Gerhard Geier, previously Head of the Radiomonitoring and Radiolocation Division, has been newly appointed to the Executive Board. Managing partner Christian Leicher remains on the Executive Board.
A proven T&M expert, Michael Vohrer mapped out important new paths for Rohde & Schwarz: He launched the R&S CMU200 universal radio communication tester, one of the company's all-time best selling products. Vohrer is leaving the company for personal reasons: "Now that we have successfully guided the company through the economic crisis and I see that things are back on the right track, I would like to start enjoying my well-earned retirement."
At the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2010, Manfred Fleischmann assumed the role of President and CEO. Fleischmann joined the company 25 years ago, and has been a member of the Executive Board since 2005. In this capacity he was responsible primarily for production, logistics and materials management. Before that, Fleischmann, who is an engineer by profession, held various management positions in quality assurance. "My goal is, together with my colleagues, to maintain the company's economic independence and growth. Driving us towards this goal are both the company's global positioning (for example, our expansion activities in Asia) and its innovative products, such as the newly launched oscilloscopes, which will also open up new markets."
Gerhard Geier is now on the Executive Board. Also an engineer, Geier has been with the company since 1968 and has been a member of Corporate Management for 16 years as Head of the Radiomonitoring and Radiolocation Division. Under his leadership, this division advanced to take its place alongside Test & Measurement, Broadcasting and Secure Communications as one of the four main pillars of the company. With Geier in charge, Rohde & Schwarz most recently entered the field of satellite monitoring and established international R&D capacity in France and Singapore to complement the development activities in Germany.
With the new Executive Board, comprised of Manfred Fleischmann, Christian Leicher and Gerhard Geier, Rohde & Schwarz will continue to rely on the proven combination of long-standing experience and innovative expertise.
