Business graduate Claus Sauter (*1966), the founder of Verbio, has also been Chief Executive Officer of the Group since May 2006. Claus Sauter is responsible for the Business Development & Sustainability, Business Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions and Global Market Risk departements. In addition, the Verbio subsidiary in India and the Specialties business unit, including the affiliated Hungarian subsidiary XiMo, report to him.
After studying Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Augsburg, he took over the family business, Alois Sauter Landesprodukten-Großhandlung GmbH & Co. KG, Obenhausen, Bavaria. Claus Sauter then worked as managing partner, managing director, and shareholder for several companies which he co-founded in Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, and Switzerland.
Oliver Lüdtke (*1965), who holds a doctorate in Engineering, has been a member and Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Verbio SE since May 2011. As CTO North America, he is responsible for Engineering, Research & Development, as well as the operational management of Verbio’s production facilities in the United States and Canada.
Prof. Dr. Lüdtke completed his studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hanover in 1993, and obtained his doctorate in 1996 at the chemical institute of the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht. He then took on various management roles in engineering and production. Between 2005 and 2007 he was site manager of a Japanese chemical company, earning his MBA during this time. Prof. Dr. Lüdtke has been with Verbio since 2008.
Olaf Tröber (*1969) has been with Verbio since 2007. He headed the Global Treasury, Risk Management, Investor Relations, and Business Development departments before joining the Management Board on July 1, 2022.
As CFO, he is responsible for the Global Treasury, Global Controlling, Global and European Accounting & Tax, Global Insurance, Global Compliance, Global Internal Auditing, Global Risk Consolidation, Investor Relations & ESG, Global Information Security, and IT Europe departments. For Verbio North America, the Finance and IT departements report to him.
Olaf Tröber attended universities in Germany and South Africa and graduated in Business Administration from the University of Leipzig in 1999. He then worked for an international investment company in Munich, where he was responsible for the Treasury/Finance division. He was also a member of the management of various companies in Germany and abroad.
The certified engineer Theodor Niesmann (1967) has been a member of the Executive Board at Verbio since May 2011. As CTO Europe, his responsibilities include the areas of Engineering, Procurement & Construction, Health/Safety/Environment, Operational Excellence Maintenance & Automation, as well as Research & Development for the European region. In addition, he is responsible for managing the European production sites, structurally organized according to the production segments biodiesel and bioethanol.
Since 1996 he has worked in various companies as a project engineer and project manager in the planning and construction of chemical and energy plants. In 2000 he moved to Verbio in Bitterfeld as project and operations manager. From 2004 to 2007 he managed the construction and operation of the Verbio biodiesel plant in Schwedt. From 2007, he worked as Head of the Biodiesel segment at Verbio, and was responsible for setting up and managing the plant engineering department.
Bernd Sauter (*1969), a qualified wholesale and foreign trade merchant, has been a member of the Verbio Management Board since November 2010. In addition to the administrative management of the European production sites, he is responsible for the subsidiaries VERBIO Agrar, VERBIO Logistik, and VERBIO Polska, as well as for the administrative functions Finance Europe, Human Resources Europe, Supply/Trading/Sales Europe, Global Legal, Quality Management Europe, and Energy/ Environment/Sustainability.
He worked as the Managing Director of Sauter Verpachtungsgesellschaft Zörbig from 1997, after which he took over as Managing Director of Alois Sauter Landesprodukten GmbH & Co. KG.
Stefan Schreiber (*1969) has been with Verbio since 2017. He was initially Head of Business Development before being appointed to the Management Board in 2020.He is responsible for the areas of Global Marketing & Communications as well as Global Governmental & Regulatory Affairs. In the North American region, the areas of Supply/Trading/Sales, HR, Legal, and Business Development and Regulatory Compliance fall under his responsibility. He also oversees the Verbio subsidiary in Geneva, which focuses on Global Trading. Furthermore, Stefan Schreiber represents Verbio in the German Biofuel Industry Association (VDB) in his role as President of the association.
Stefan Schreiber graduated in Business Administration from Saarland University in 1996, and then worked for an agricultural group for twenty years in various management positions in Germany and abroad.
Member of the Supervisory Board since April 2006
Education/academic career
Studied Business Administration at the University of Passau.
Professional career
Alexander von Witzleben has significant management experience holding management positions with various companies for many years, including with Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH in Duisburg, Jenoptik AG in Jena, and KPMG Deutsche Treuhand Gesellschaft in Munich.
Current positions in management and supervisory boards, which he has also held for several years, include positions on the boards of Arbonia Management AG in Arbon (Switzerland), Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA in Siegburg, and KAEFER Management SE in Bremen. He is Member of the Board of Directors, Innoviz Technologies Ltd., Nitzba, Israel.
Member of the Supervisory Board since June 2010
Education/academic career
Studied Industrial Engineering at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, graduating with a degree in Industrial Engineering.
Professional career
After working as a partner and managing director of M&K Treuhand GmbH in Ludwigsburg, Ulrike Krämer has been working as an auditor and tax consultant in sole proprietorships since 2014.
Member of the Supervisory Board since January 2021
Education/academic career
Studied Chemistry at the Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster, and later obtained his doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Mülheim a. d. Ruhr.
Professional career
Klaus Niemann has significant management experience holding positions as a member of the management board in various companies for many years, including Ruhröl Raffinerie in Gelsenkirchen, TNK-BP in Moscow, PCK Raffinerie GmbH in Schwedt/Oder, and the Münchsmünster chemical park.
