Dr Esther Hackl was born in Linz, Austria, in 1982. From 2001 to 2005, she studied law at the University of Vienna, where she also obtained a degree in political science in 2009. Dr Esther Hackl finished her doctoral studies in law at the University of Vienna in 2012. From 2010 to 2011, Dr Esther Hackl completed postgraduate studies (LL. M.) at Harvard Law School in the United States. Dr Esther Hackl started her professional career in 2011 in the corporate department of the Frankfurt office of the American law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. In 2013, she switched to the Frankfurt capital markets team of the British‐German law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. Since 2019, Dr Esther Hackl has been the General Counsel of the Düsseldorf fintech company auxmoney GmbH. In this function, she has furthermore been a member of the committee for legal questions & Europe of the association of German lending platforms (Verband deutscher Kreditplattformen e. V.) since 2020. Since 2020, Dr Esther Hackl has been the chairperson of the Supervisory Board of Knaus Tabbert.
Anton Autengruber was born in Jandelsbrunn in 1968. He finished his apprenticeship as wood mechanic in 1984 and subsequently trained as a design draftsman. Anton Autengruber started his professional career as an apprentice with Knaus GmbH in Jandelsbrunn in 1984. Since 2002, he has been head of the workers’ council at the Jandelsbrunn site. Anton Autengruber has been a member of the Supervisory Board of the Company since 2020.
Linda Schätzl was born in Zwiesel in 2000 and completed her 3-year apprenticeship as an industrial clerk at Knaus Tabbert in 2019. After her apprenticeship, she stayed on at the company, working first in the debit management department before moving over to sales (export) in 2021. In 2022, she became a representative and deputy chairwoman of the works council at the Jandelsbrunn site and in October 2022, became a member of the Knaus Tabbert AG supervisory board.
René Ado Oscar Bours was born in Virginia, South Africa, in 1957. From 1977 to 1984 he studied (Tax) Law at Leiden University. After graduating, René Bours started his professional career at Price Waterhouse in their The Hague and Rotterdam offices. Until his retirement as a tax lawyer in 2017, René Bours was a partner at Deloitte Netherlands in their Amsterdam and Rotterdam offices with a focus on mergers and acquisitions. Currently, René Bours holds various board positions with for‐profit and non‐profit organizations, among others with Cornelder Holding, a family‐owned logistics company, and NBL International, a subsidiary of Noble Energy, a Houston based oil and gas exploration and production company. Furthermore, he is general counsel of Windroos B. V. Since 2020, René Bours has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Knaus Tabbert.
Willem Paulus de Pundert was born Hoedekenskerke, Zeeland, the Netherlands, in 1957. He started his professional career as controller at DJ van der Haven B.V. in 1974. He became active in the private equity industry in 1990 and has since invested in numerous businesses across various sectors, mainly throughout Europe through the private group of companies currently held by Windroos B.V., located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In recent years, the group has diversified its investment portfolio and is now also active in the field of (international) real estate, loans, listed equities, and funds. From 2008 until June 2020, Willem de Pundert was managing partner of H.T.P. Investments 1 B.V., an owner‐funded private equity firm which focuses on investments in Germany. Willem de Pundert held a 60% equity stake in H.T.P. Investments 1 B.V. and 50% of the voting rights. Since 2020, Willem de Pundert has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Knaus Tabbert.
Jana Donath was born in Berlin in 1977. She studied economics at the University of Dresden, Constance and Aberdeen from 1997 to 2002 before finishing her postgraduate studies with a master’s degree in economics from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 2003. She started her professional career with the international banking group ProCredit where, as chief financial officer (CFO) she was part of the management team in Ecuador. In 2010, she moved back to Germany and assumed various finance management positions at group level. She became the highest‐ranking finance professional of the ProCredit group in 2016 and was part of the management team. In 2013, ProCredit obtained a banking license in Germany and came under group supervision. Since 2016, ProCredit Holding has been listed at the Frankfurt Stock exchange (Prime Standard). In 2018, Jana Donath joined the SMBC group as Head of Finance for Continental Europe. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has defined the group as global, systemically important bank (G‐SIB). As part of the senior management team in Europe, Jana Donath assisted in the foundation of the new European headquarter in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Since 2020, Jana Donath has been a member of the Supervisory Board of the Company.
Stephan Kern was born in Freyung in 1993. He started his professional career as an apprentice at Knaus Tabbert in Jandelsbrunn in 2010 and has been employed there as qualified IT specialist since 2013. Since 2020, Stephan Kern has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Knaus Tabbert.
Klaas Meertens was born in Dordrecht in the Netherlands in 1957. From 1976 to 1980, he studied physics (BSc) at the University of Utrecht, and from 1980 to 1983, he completed his master studies in management at the University of Delft. During this period, he spent one term in an exchange program at the Wharton Business School in Philadelphia, USA. In 1984, Klaas Meertens won the first price with his master’s thesis in the nation‐wide NIVE competition. Klaas Meertens started his professional career at JPMorgan in New York and Amsterdam in 1984. In 1986, he switched to McKinsey & Company. From 1992 to 1996, he was a partner at their Amsterdam office before switching back to JPMorgan in 1997. From 1998 to 2007, he served as a managing director at their London office, first in charge of technology, media and telecom for EMEA and later heading the investment banking team for Benelaux and Switzerland. He was also part of the Investment Banking Coverage Team’s management committee. From 2008 until June 2020, Klaas Meertens was managing partner of H.T.P. Investments 1 B.V., an owner‐funded private equity firm, which focuses on investments in Germany. Klaas Meertens held a 40% equity stake in H.T.P. Investments 1 B.V. and 50% of the voting rights. On July 1, 2020, he became director of Catalina. Since 2020, Klaas Meertens has been a member of the supervisory board of Knaus Tabbert.
Daniela Fischer was born in 1967 in Dillenburg. After working as a gas station attendant in 1988, Daniela Fischer worked as a machine operator from 1989 to 1999, first at Hailo in Haiger, Germany, and afterwards at Eickel & Spindeldreher in Arnsberg, Germany. From 1999 to 2002, she studied economics and political sciences in Hamburg, graduating with a diploma (Diplom Wirtschaftsund Arbeitsjuristin). Since 2002, she has worked in various positions at IG Metall union in Munich and Weilheim, Germany, where she was a director (Geschäftsführerin) from 2011–2020, before she became wage secretary at the IG Metall union regional management for Bavaria in 2020. Since the same year, Daniela Fischer has been a member of the Supervisory Board of the Knaus Tabbert.
Manfred Pretscher was born in Münnerstadt in 1957. After completing an apprenticeship as machinist at FAG Kugelfischer in Schweinfurt, he studied mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Schweinfurt and Würzburg from 1980 to 1984, followed by studies in technical sales and distribution in Berlin from 1994 to 1995. In addition, he completed a professional training in industrial engineering at REFA AG from 1985 to 1986. Manfred Pretscher started his professional career at FAG Kugelfischer in the hard processing segment. From 2010 to 2018, Manfred Pretscher was chief operating officer (COO) of Grammer AG. In 2019, Manfred Pretscher took over the position of chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) at Grammer AG before retiring the same year. Manfred Pretscher has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Knaus Tabbert since 2020.
Robert Scherer was born in Passau in 1974. He served an apprenticeship as cutting machine operator from 1992 to 1994. In 2006, he qualified as metal foreman. Robert Scherer started his professional career as machine operator at ZF Friedrichshafen AG in Passau. Since 2013, he has been trade union secretary at the IG Metall union. Robert Scherer has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Knaus Tabbert since 2020.
Ferdinand Sommer was born in Schindelstatt, Germany, in 1963. From 1987 to 1991, he studied mathematics at the University of Applied Sciences Regensburg. Ferdinand Sommer started his professional career as „CAD administrator“ at Knaus GmbH in 1991 where he became head of operations scheduling (Leiter Arbeitsvorbereitung) in 1982. From 1999 to 2008, Ferdinand Sommer served as head of IT and organization at Knaus AG, where he was also an authorized agent (Handlungsbevollmächtigter). In 2009, he was appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Knaus Tabbert GmbH. Since 2020, Ferdinand Sommer has been a member of the Supervisory Board.