SCHWARZENBACH – Sandler AG has appointed Katharina Obergruber to its management board as chief commercial officer (CCO), consolidating responsibility for all sales activities at the German nonwovens manufacturer under her leadership from 1 September 2026.
The move forms part of a wider realignment in which current chief commercial officer Dr Ulrich Hornfeck will assume the role of chief operating officer (COO), with a focus on production and supply chain.
From September, the Sandler AG Management Board will comprise CEO Philipp Ebbinghaus, COO Dr Ulrich Hornfeck and CCO Katharina Obergruber, reflecting a clearer separation between commercial and operational responsibilities.
According to the company, the new structure is designed to support its response to changing market conditions in core nonwovens segments, including hygiene, wipes and transportation applications.
Obergruber currently serves as chief sales officer, Hygiene and is a member of the management team at Sandler AG, where she oversees one of the company’s largest business areas. In this capacity she has been responsible for sales of nonwovens used in baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, incontinence products and for wet and cleaning wipes, placing her close to key OEMs and brand owners in these global markets.
CEO Philipp Ebbinghaus said the appointment was intended to strengthen customer orientation and strategic steering at board level during a period of ongoing change in nonwovens markets.
He described Obergruber as a board member “who combines customer proximity with strategic clarity – two qualities we need in times of constant change,” while emphasising that Sandler will also continue to rely on Dr Hornfeck’s long-standing experience and deep knowledge of materials and technologies in his new operational remit.
Dr Hornfeck highlighted the continuity and succession aspect of the decision, noting that overall commercial responsibility would be “in excellent hands” with Obergruber. He credited her with “outstanding work” in the sales organisation in recent years and said he expects her “expertise and ideas” to provide new momentum in her expanded role, as he shifts his focus to leading production and supply chain into the future.
Obergruber said she aims to use the new role to reinforce a customer-focused organisational structure and to improve integration between sales, materials management and logistics.
She emphasised a leadership approach centred on direction, listening and joint problem-solving, stating that “it is not principles but personalities that move organisations forward”, and signalling an intention to support a more sustainable and diverse corporate culture at Sandler.
