BERLIN — Aldo Kamper, CEO of Leoni, who led the German cable and wire harness supplier through the crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leaves the company.
Kamper will join semiconductor maker AMS Osram as the new CEO on March 31, Leoni said in a statement.
Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz were forced to cut production in Germany last year after the supply of wire harnesses produced at Leoni’s Ukrainian plant was disrupted.
Kamper said the reason for his resignation was a job offer he couldn’t turn down.
“I wanted to complete the restructuring of this promising company as CEO,” Kamper said in a statement. “However, the challenge presented to me is the logical continuation of my professional career. I couldn’t say no.”
Leoni said the company’s supervisory board will immediately begin discussions to replace Kamper.
AMS Osram announced the appointment of Kamper as CEO on Monday. He will succeed Alexander Everke, who served as CEO of the company for his seven years.
Austrian sensor specialist AMS, which supplies Apple with sensors for the iPhone, acquired Osram in 2019 as part of its strategy to become the leader in integrated sensors and lighting with a focus on autonomous vehicles.
Kampar, a Dutchman, previously worked for AMS Osram. After graduating, he held various positions at the company since 1994.
Klaus Rinnerberger, Chairman of Leoni’s Supervisory Board, said: “He succeeded Leoni in a difficult situation and has survived a very difficult time. Brought in to manage the planned growth, he has proven himself to be a crisis manager.”
Kampar’s contract, which had already been extended for 2021, will run until 2026. He joined his Leoni in 2018 and has dealt with several crises. Most recently, there was a bottleneck in Ukrainian cable his harness and the collapse of the sale of the cable sector.
Leoni begins the year by strengthening its Board of Directors and welcoming Hans-Joachim Ziems as Chief Restructuring Officer.
After the sale of its cable division to Ty Stark fell through in December, Mr. James was hired to lead negotiations with the company’s own lenders on refinancing and restructuring concepts.
The board said Ziems will continue these negotiations. The company initially remained open about whether he should step in as CEO on an interim basis.
Ziems was already a member of Leoni’s board of directors as Chief Restructuring Officer from 2020 to 2021, and was considered second only to Kamper at the time.
His main task now is to find a new boss for the Nuremberg-based company.
In July, Kamper said: car news europe Congress confirmed further standardization of wiring harnesses and discussed the impact of the Russian-led war in Ukraine on the company’s business.