The outgoing CEO Peter Mohnen is leaving the company at his own request after 13 years on the Kuka Executive Board.

With Christoph Schell, Kuka has gained an internationally experienced manager as CEO of the Kuka Group, who has extensive knowledge of the high-tech industry and innovative future technologies. The 53-year-old, born in Kirchheim unter Teck, Swabia, has held senior management positions worldwide for HP, Philips and Intel, where he was responsible for 3D printing and digital manufacturing, among other things. Schell has already been a member of the Kuka Supervisory Board and Chairman of the Board's Strategy and Technology Committee since the beginning of 2023. He is therefore already very familiar with the company and its global business, according to Kuka.

Christoph Schell, who has lived in the USA for over ten years, previously spent many years in Asia and knows the global markets: "I am enthusiastic about the global spectrum and success of the Kuka Group and convinced of the growth prospects that will change the world of work and daily life, especially through the interplay of robotics, automation and AI. It is an honor for me to drive this development forward as Kuka's global CEO. I am looking forward to the Kuka team."

The 2024 financial year

Kuka announced its figures for the 2024 financial year on April 30. According to the figures, the company increased its order intake by 1.3% to around 4.1 billion euros (2023: 4.0 billion euros). The book-to-bill ratio rose to 1.09 (2023: 0.99), signaling a positive trend according to Kuka. Nevertheless, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties are having an impact on the economy and thus on customers' investment behavior. In addition, customers are reluctant to invest in e-mobility due to subdued demand. Like many other companies, Kuka is feeling the effects of this. In 2024, sales fell by 7.9% to 3.7 billion euros (2023: 4.1 billion euros). This development was driven by declines in America and Europe, while the company recorded growth and record sales in Asia. The more competitive market and one-off effects from a major project led to a 51.6% decline in EBIT to 76.5 million euros (2023: 158.2 million euros).