Paulaner Brauerei CEO to step down in six months over ‘difference of opinions’

GERMANY – The CEO of Paulaner Brauerei, Jörg Lehmann, has opted to leave the German brewery after differing with the opinions of the group’s owners on the growth of the brewer.

Lehmann, who will step down on September 30th, has headed the Paulaner management board since 2018, having previously acted as COO for six months.

Paulaner Brauerei Gruppe is one of the brewery groups that produces beer under different brands and bio-brewed soft drinks. Seventy percent of the company is owned by the Schörghuber Unternehmensgruppe and 30% by the Dutch Heineken International B.V.

According to Paulaner, Lehmann is stepping down from the top role following a disagreement about the best approach to take the company towards “sustainable profitable growth” as well as the brewer’s position regarding its organization and employees.

Lehmann is currently the lead negotiator on the part of the employers in the current collective bargaining round for the Bavarian brewing industry. Since June 2017, he has also held the office of President of the German Brewers’ Association. 

Nico Nusmeier, CEO of Schörghuber Unternehmensgruppe, said: “Both owners of the Paulaner Brewery Group and I personally are very grateful to Dr. Jörg Lehmann for what he has achieved in Kulmbach and Munich over the past ten years. The consistent expansion of the group’s supply network and success stories such as those of Chiemseer, Paulaner Spezi, and most recently Paulaner Hell.

“The decision to go separate ways in the future does not change the appreciation and trust that both shareholders have in Dr. Jörg Lehmann. Equipped with this, he will therefore play a leading role in driving the transformation of Germany’s number four brewing group until his departure.”

In addition to the actual Paulaner brewery, the group also includes Hacker-Pschorr, Fürstenberg, Auerbräu, Hopf, Schmucker, Hoepfner, Thurn und Taxis, and the majority of Kulmbacher Brauerei AG.

Last October, Paulaner Brauerei won a case on the use of the brand name Spazi for its cola and orange carbonated soft drink.

The 1974 deal was between Riegele and then-Paulaner Salvator Thomas-Bräu-AG. At the time, Riegele claims it agreed to allow Paulaner to market and sell its Paulaner Spezi in return for a onetime payment. The deal contained the condition Paulaner Spezi had a different logo to Riegele’s version of the drink.

In May 2021, however, Riegele said it wished to terminate the agreement, and the brewery demanded fees from Paulaner like those it charges other regional brewers to bottle Spezi. The amount in the dispute was set at EUR10m (US$9.7m).

Paulaner argued that the 1974 agreement could not be terminated, as it was a one-off demarcation agreement, not an ongoing licensing one. It said the agreement was only necessary to differentiate between the two drinks at the time, pointing to the fact Spezi has become a catch-all term for cola-soda mixed drinks in Germany.

The court judge ruled that the plaintiff unquestionably complies with the contractual agreements, and contractual repentance that occurred decades after the conclusion of the agreement as a result of the defendant’s desire to participate in the considerable economic success of the plaintiff does not constitute an important reason in the legal sense.

For all the latest food industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.