Virginia Business reported Bjoern Fischer and Nick Jiannas have left Stihl Inc. by “mutual agreement,” according to an Oct. 8, 2021 internal company memo obtained by magazine. Fischer had been president and Jiannas was vice president of U.S. sales and marketing.
According to the letter obtained by Virginia Business, “Stihl’s Executive Council leadership quotes correspondence from the Stihl Group’s German headquarters, saying that Fischer and Jiannas ‘will leave the Stihl Group by mutual agreement on 8th October 2021. The success that our company has enjoyed over the past several years is due in large part to their leadership, dedication and commitment. We wish them both all success in their future endeavors.’”
Fischer’s duties are being shared temporarily by Mark Scavillo, vice president of finance and information services, and Lorraine Amesbury Holder, vice president of operations. Jiannas’ job will be filled on an interim basis by Murray Bishop, director of sales.
Details were not released as to why Fischer and Jiannes were let go, but the letter said Stihl had begun to find permanent replacements for their positions.
“They agreed mutually to part ways for the good of the company, and all operations continue as normal,” Roger Phelps gold Virginia Business back in October. “Changes in management happen all of the time.”
On the same day the letter was shared internally, Stihl announced Ingrid Jägering was named the new chief financial officer and information technology officer at Stihl AG. She is the successor to Karl Angler, who at 66 will leave the company at the end of 2022 when his contract expires. Jägering will join STIHL on Jan. 1, 2023 at the latest; possibly even earlier in the course of 2022. The board department includes finance, controlling, treasury, IT and the management of corporate investments. At the recommendation of the STIHL Advisory Board, Jägering was unanimously appointed by the Supervisory Board to the Board of Management for 3 years.
Rural Lifestyle Dealer reached out to Stihl for comment and an update on the status of the succession plan but has not yet responded to our request. We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.
