The supervisory board of Heidelberg has appointed Christoph Burkhard (62) as a full member of the executive board and chief financial officer of Heidelberg, effective 1 October, 2026. With this change at the helm of the finance division, Volker Herdin will enter well-deserved retirement on 30 September, 2026. Until his departure, Volker Herdin will oversee the handover to Christoph Burkhard and ensure a smooth transition. In his role as CFO, Christoph Burkhard will be responsible for the departments of Finance, Controlling, Investor Relations, M&A, Accounting, Legal, Tax, and Information Security.
“In Mr. Burkhard, we have gained a CFO with extensive international experience who possesses excellent expertise in the areas of finance and investor relations,” says Dr. Martin Sonnenschein, chairman of the supervisory board of Heidelberg. “In addition, Mr. Burkhard has already demonstrated his ability to generate successful and sustainable cash flow at two publicly traded international engineering companies. This is also a very important topic for Heidelberg,” Dr. Sonnenschein continued.
Burkhard is currently CFO of construction equipment manufacturer Wacker Neuson. He stepped down from this position on 31 August 2026. Prior to that, he served as CFO at Hamburg-based wind turbine manufacturer Nordex. Burkhard was born in 1964 and earned his Diplom-Kaufmann degree in business administration from the University of Tübingen.
He subsequently earned a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics. Burkhard began his career as an analyst for the European Commission in Luxembourg before moving to BHF Bank in Frankfurt. In 1998, Burkhard joined Siemens Financial Services in Munich, where he spent six years in the finance division structuring and negotiating project and export financing for Siemens’ operating units. This was followed by additional business leadership positions within the Siemens Group.
“With Burkhard, we are gaining a CFO who will sustainably strengthen our company on its path to becoming an integrated technology group. In addition, the focus will be on expanding the financial strength of Heidelberg and positioning the company appropriately in the capital market,” says Jürgen Otto, CEO of Heidelberg.
“I am very much looking forward to actively shaping and driving the future development of this long-established and renowned technology company together with the Executive Board team,” comments Christoph Burkhard.
