Management

Manangement Board

The Bahlsen Group is directed by a Manangement Board consisting of Alexander Kühnen (Chief Executive Officer), Christopher Harmsen (Chief Financial Officer) and Karl Reichstein (Chief Supply Chain Officer).

The Management Board establishes the company strategy and monitors its implementation. It lays down the guidelines and standards for the whole Bahlsen Group and controls the business units. Bahlsen has Business Units in the regions:

  • Germany, Austria & Switzerland
  • UK & Ireland
  • Central & Eastern Europe
  • Western Europe
  • America
  • Middle East &  Africa
  • Asia Pacific

Alexander Kühnen

Alexander Kühnen has been CEO of Bahlsen since January 2023. He serves as Chairman of the Management Board. In addition he is directly responsible for the group functions Strategy & Impact, Research & Developmant, Legal & Compliance, Human Resources and Communications as well as for the Commercial Units DACH, Europe excluding DACH, Outside Europe and Bisquiva & New Channels.

Alexander Kühnen studied business administration and psychology in Germany and Paris. He worked for Unilever for many years in Germany and abroad, where he held various management positions in marketing and sales, most recently as Managing Director of the Swiss business unit. In 2019, he started at Carl Kühne in Hamburg, first as Chief Sales Officer and was later appointed CEO.

Christopher Harmsen

Christopher Harmsen has been the Chief Financial Officer of Bahlsen since December 2022. His responsibilities include all finance areas as well as procurement.

Christopher Harmsen studied industrial engineering in Germany and Hongkong. Before joining Bahlsen, he worked as a controller at Montblanc and subsequently held various positions at CSM Bakery Solutions, including in product management and most recently as Finance Director Management Accounting. Christopher joined the Bahlsen Family in 2019 and was the Commercial Director of Bisquiva up until his appointment to the Management Board.

 

 

Karl Reichstein

Karl Reichstein has been Chief Supply Chain Officer since December 2022. In this role he is responsible for our four plants in Germany and Poland, for logistics in Langenhagen, as well as for Demand & Supply Planning, S&OP Management, Supply Chain Development and Quality Management. In parallel, he holds the position of Head of Group Masterplanning & Engineering in the Group Supply Chain.

After studying Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Karl Reichstein started his career in Engineering at Bahlsen in 1995. After various positions, including Plant Manager at the Barsinghausen site and Supply Chain Director DACH, he had been Director Supply Chain since January 2021.