Management Board & Supervisory Board

Management Board

Claus Sauter (1966)

Founder and CEO

Claus Sauter (b. 1966), founder of VERBIO AG, has also been its CEO since May 2006. He is responsible for strategic business development, sales and marketing, IT, finance and accounting, controlling and risk management, the press and public relations, investor relations and legal affairs. After graduating in economics and social sciences from the University of Augsburg, in 1990 he took charge of the family wholesale business, Alois Sauter Landesprodukten-Grosshandlung GmbH & Co. KG, in the Bavarian town of Obenhausen. Claus Sauter subsequently became the managing partner, CEO and shareholder of a number of companies set up by him in Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Switzerland.

Interview with Claus Sauter (Video)

Dr. Oliver Lüdtke

COO Bioethanol/Biomethane

Oliver Lüdtke (b. 1965), who has a doctorate in engineering, has been COO Bioethanol/Biomethane at VERBIO AG since May 2011. His responsibilities include R&D, production and project development in the bioethanol and biomethane segment. He is also in charge of data protection.

Oliver Lüdtke graduated in engineering from the University of Hanover in 1993, and completed his doctorate in 1996 at the Chemical Institute of the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht. From 1997 until 2000 he was engineering project manager at Hoechst AG, Frankfurt, after which he joined chemical company Celanese until 2005, where he performed various managerial roles in production and trained as a Six Sigma Black Belt. From 2005–07, Dr. Lüdtke was site manager of the Japanese chemical company Polyplastics in Oberhausen, and also took his MBA. Dr. Luedtke has been COO Bioethanol/Biomethane of VERBIO AG since 2007.

Interview with Dr. Oliver Lüdtke (Video)

Theodor Niesmann (1967)

COO Biodiesel and Plant Engineering

Qualified engineer Theodor Niesmann (b. 1967) has been COO Biodiesel and Plant Engineering since May 2011. He is responsible for biodiesel production, R&D in biodiesel, the planning, construction and start-up of investment projects, and quality management and industrial safety at VERBIO AG.

As of 1996, Theodor Niesmann worked in various companies as a project engineer and project manager on the planning and construction of chemical and energy plants. In doing so, he gained extensive experience in especially the building and operation of plants for processing vegetable oil and oleochemical production. In 2000 he joined VERBIO Diesel Bitterfeld as project manager. From 2004–07 he was CEO of VERBIO Diesel Schwedt (VDS), where he headed the plant's construction and operation. Since 2007, Theodore Niesmann has been in charge of biodiesel and also set up the Department of Plant Engineering, which he now heads.

Interview with Theodor Niesmann (Video)

Bernd Sauter (1969)

COO Procurement, Logistics and HR

With a background in wholesale and foreign trade, Bernd Sauter (b. 1969) has been COO Procurement, Logistics and HR at VERBIO AG since November 2010. As such, he is responsible for purchasing raw materials, transportation and logistics, human resources, business development, and facility and fleet management.

After heading leasing company Sauter Verpachtungsgesellschaft Zörbig as of 1997, in 2000 he was appointed CEO of both Alois Sauter Landesprodukten GmbH & Co. KG and Autokontor Bayern GmbH, positions he still holds. Between 2006 and 2010 he led the restructuring of the Märka Märkische Kraftfutter GmbH to become Märka GmbH.