Since 2019, GEA has risen from underperformer to DAX member – one of Germany’s top 40 listed companies – by fostering entrepreneurship and turning sustainability into a competitive advantage. It reached this milestone in its nearly 145-year history without tailwinds or shortcuts, in a world of compounding crises. This turnaround shows what’s possible when purpose and performance align.
“In 2019, we were in a difficult situation,” recalls CEO Stefan Klebert, who took the helm that year amid the turmoil. “We had world-class engineers and a highly skilled workforce. But we had built a structure that systematically drained their initiative and prevented them from doing what they do best.”
Six years later, the contrast could not be sharper. In September 2025, GEA achieved a fast-entry promotion to the DAX, Germany’s premier stock index – the first and only pure-play machinery and plant manufacturer to make this leap. This milestone followed a record-breaking 2024, in which the company raised its EBITDA margin forecast twice and hit its strategic financial targets two years ahead of schedule. This ascent occurred even as the German economy struggled, making GEA’s revival all the more striking.
Restoring ownership and performance culture
The turnaround began with a clear diagnosis. The organizational experiment had failed. The complex setup wasn’t creating synergies; it was creating friction. Klebert and his team responded with a structural reset built on two core principles.
First, ownership and accountability. The rigid structure that had obscured responsibilities was replaced by five divisions, each with their own management team and profit-and-loss responsibility. The goal was to foster agility and transparency, empowering business units to move fast, stay close to customers and focus on their core strengths. The shift restored the entrepreneurial spirit that had been stifled.
Second, performance culture. Managers received clear targets and the authority to meet them. High performers were rewarded. Those who consistently underdelivered were replaced. Klebert’s core principle, often repeated, became a cultural mantra: “A budget is a budget – and it stays a budget.” The clarity of this results-driven approach proved central to GEA’s successful transformation.
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Joseph Clarke
Editor, International Bakery
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920
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