roup VK Muehlen AG, Christophe Kempkes (pictured), is to resign from his position effective 31 January 2014 and take on a new role as chief executive of the bakery products group, Lieken. The decision for Kempkes to leave Germany's biggest milling group, VK, was confirmed by the supervisory board of the company yesterday as a response to the resignation request he made. Kempkes will replace Thomas Hoering as Lieken CEO.
In a statement, VK Mills thanked Kempkes for his successful work at the company throughout his tenure there.
"Christoph Kempkes has reorganized VK mills from a critical phase out. He initiated modernization and restructuring programs. He has successfully implemented the turnaround and the company returned back to the top of the market. We thank him for the excellent cooperation and wish him well in his new job responsibilities, all the best," said Klaus Josef Lutz, chairman of the VK Mills AG.
Kempkes was a member of the board of VK Mills since 2010 and in January 2012 he was made CEO. His previous work experience includes a director's role at Tchibo Coffee Service as well as a being a brand manager at Procter of Procter & Gamble.
The board also announced that Kempkes' replacement will be Gunnar Steffek, the current managing director of Kamppmeyer Mills.
