Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR – Change at the helm of Vetropack: Lukas Burkhardt to become new CEO at year’s end

06.05.2025: The Vetropack Group, one of Europe’s leading glass packaging manufacturers, is appointing Dr Lukas Burkhardt as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the group of companies with effect from 1 January 2026. Dr Burkhardt, a Swiss national, will succeed Johann Reiter when he retires at the end of the year after eight years at the helm of Vetropack.

The Board of Directors of the Vetropack Group has decided to appoint Dr Lukas Burkhardt as the successor to its current CEO, Johann Reiter. By selecting Dr Burkhardt, they have opted for a management figure who comes equipped with many years of experience in the glass packaging market. Dr Lukas Burkhardt is a Swiss citizen and is currently a member of the Management Board of Gerresheimer AG, where he has headed the Primary Packaging Glass Division since 1 January 2018.

After obtaining his doctorate in mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich, Dr Lukas Burkhardt started out on his professional career at Audi in Ingolstadt (Germany). He went on to play a key part in the development of the Rieter Automotive Group (now known as Autoneum), where he held various management positions over a seven-year period. He spent much of this time in Asia where, as Head of Operations Asia, he was responsible for all the company’s production plants in that region. In 2015, he joined the Executive Board of the Franke Group as Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this role, he controlled global production – with over 30 locations – as well as the logistics, purchasing and engineering areas. He then took up his present position at Gerresheimer AG in 2018.

“We are very pleased to have recruited such a successful management figure as Dr Lukas Burkhardt. He has in-depth knowledge of the industry, international experience, strategic foresight and the creative drive of an entrepreneur,” in the words of Claude Cornaz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vetropack Holding Ltd. “We are convinced that he will lead Vetropack successfully into the future and, like his predecessor, can shape a new era for us.”

Handover at the turn of the year

Dr Lukas Burkhardt will take up his new position effective 1 January 2026. Johann Reiter, who has headed the Vetropack Group as its CEO since the beginning of 2018, will step down at the end of the year due to his age, and will take retirement. Mr Reiter has led the Group successfully through the past eight years and, in particular, has driven ahead the Group’s internationalisation and strategic realignment (Strategy 2030+). Vetropack’s achievements under Johann Reiter’s leadership include, most recently, the market launch of its thermally tempered lightweight glass bottles – one of the industry’s most important innovations in past years. Both Strategy 2030+ and the new lightweight glass bottle are trailblazing developments for the Group.