Group Management - Responsibilities and Function
The Lindt & Sprüngli Group Management is responsible for the implementation of Group strategies. In addition, the individual members of Group Management must lead their allocated functional and responsibility areas within the framework of the Group policy in compliance with instructions given by the CEO and the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. On the basis of a matrix structure, the individual Group Management members are given line responsibility for entire country organizations and geographical areas, together with functional responsibility for specific areas.
Dr Adalbert Lechner (AT)
Group CEO
PhD in Law — After receiving his doctorate in law, Mr. Lechner held several management positions in marketing and sales with L’Oréal and Johnson & Johnson. He joined the Lindt & Sprüngli Group as CEO of the Austrian subsidiary company in 1993. He was then appointed CEO of the German subsidiary Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli GmbH in 1997. He was a member of Extended Group Management from 2011 until 2016. As of January 1, 2017, he is a member of Group Management. On October 1, 2022, he took over as CEO of the Lindt & Sprüngli Group. The Headquarters' functions Group Communications, Group HR, Global Retail, and Transformation are reporting directly to him.
Martin Hug (CH)
Group CFO
Economist, MA — Mr. Hug started his career in various roles with a leading global coffee trading company in Latin America (Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Honduras), latterly as Finance Director in Costa Rica, before he joined Lindt & Sprüngli (International) AG in 2004 as Senior Controller. Only a short time later, he was promoted to CFO at Lindt & Sprüngli UK. From 2011 to the end of 2016, he held the position of CFO at Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in California (USA). As of January 1, 2017, he has been Group CFO and a member of Group Management, where he is responsible for Finance, IT, Procurement and Sustainability.
Rolf Fallegger (CH)
Country Responsibility
lic. oec. HSG — Mr. Fallegger began his career in 1991 in marketing with Procter & Gamble in Geneva, the UK, and Belgium. He joined Lindt & Sprüngli (Schweiz) AG as Marketing Manager in 1997. He was then appointed CEO of the Lindt & Sprüngli subsidiary companies in the UK and France. In 2009, he returned to the Swiss headquarters and was a member of the Extended Group Management from 2011 to 2014. In 2014, he was promoted to member of the Group Management, where he is responsible for the development of specific markets.
Alain Germiquet (CH)
Country Responsibility
lic. oec. — Mr. Germiquet started his career in the Sales division of two notable mineral oil companies before joining Hiestand in 1999, where he was promoted from Marketing Director to Managing Director in a short time. In 2005, he became Commercial Director at Nestlé and in 2007, he joined Lindt & Sprüngli first as CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli UK and then as CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli France from 2009 to 2016. On January 1, 2017, he joined Group Management, where he is responsible for the development of specific markets and International Sales.
Guido Steiner (CH)
International Operations
Dipl. Lm-Ing. ETH — Mr. Steiner began his career as assistant at the Chair for Business Administration at ETH in Zurich. In 1990, he joined Lindt & Sprüngli as Assistant Manager Group Production Planning. Two years later he was promoted to Group Production Planning Manager. From 1999 until 2003, he was Vice President Operations at Lindt & Sprüngli USA. In 2003, he returned to headquarters as Vice President Operations. As of January 1, 2017, he is member of Group Management and continues to be in charge of Group Operations.
Dr Jennifer Picenoni (CH)
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Dr. iur. — Mrs. Jennifer Picenoni joined Lindt & Sprüngli in 2007 as Senior Legal Counsel. In 2008, she was promoted to Head Corporate Legal & IP. Six years later, in 2014, she was promoted to Group General Counsel leading the company's global Legal & IP affairs and compliance operations. Beginning of 2017, Jennifer Picenoni took over the additional responsibility as Corporate Secretary. She was promoted to the Group Management as of 1 January 2020.
Daniel Studer (CH)
Country Responsibility
lic. iur. — Mr. Studer started his professional career at Unilever in Brand Marketing before he joined the Lindt & Sprüngli Switzerland subsidiary in 2003, where he held various leadership roles in sales, followed by the position of Head of International Sales at the Group’s headquarters. In 2009, he was appointed to Country Manager of Lindt & Sprüngli Mexico. Two years later, he transferred to the USA, where he was first appointed VP Sales and then CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli USA in 2016. As of September 1, 2022, he is a member of the Group Management and responsible for the development of specific markets as well as Global Marketing.
