• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
Airbus veteran André Walter took over as Meyer Werft Group CEO, with Bernd Eikens retiring after three years of steering the company through its most severe financial crisis.
Walter will lead Meyer Werft alongside Ralf Schmitz, chief restructuring officer, and Jörg Heidelberg, chief operating officer.
Walter joins from Airbus, where he served as CEO of Airbus Aerostructures GmbH and Airbus GmbH in Hamburg since 2022. An engineer, he began his Airbus career in 2006, holding various technical and management positions. Among other roles, he managed the Bremen and Hamburg Airbus sites.
Eikens joined Meyer Werft's executive board in December 2023 and steered the group through its 2024 crisis. Today, the company is financially stabilized and progressing along a restructuring that's scheduled to continue through 2028.
Eikens oversaw the deliveries of Asuka III and Disney Destiny and river vessels for Viking built by subsidiary Neptun Werft. He also implemented initiatives to improve operational processes and cost efficiency.
Christian von Lenthe, chairman of Meyer Werft's supervisory board, thanked Eikens for his "outstanding work over the past three years," adding: "He took over the company during its most severe crisis and stabilized it with composure and foresight. The fact that the group now enjoys such excellent prospects is due in no small part to his efforts. We wish him all the best for his well-deserved retirement."
Von Lenthe also welcomed Walter.
For his part, Walter said he looks forward to working with the teams in Papenburg and Rostock to build on the successes already achieved in the restructuring, whether related to the ordering pipeline, internal processes or further development of the corporate culture.
Eikens summed up his time at Meyer Werft as "challenging but ultimately successful," adding: "As a native of Papenburg, it was a matter close to my heart to help this company — which is so vital for the region and for Germany as an industrial hub — turn the corner. I am grateful that we succeeded in doing so."
On behalf of the workforce, Andreas Hensen, chairman of Meyer Werft's works council, thanked Eikens for his "trusting cooperation" and expressed the confidence that, together with Walter, the company will "successfully tackle the challenges ahead."
