The executive board of Alpla (Hard / Austria; www.alpla.com), a global specialist for plastic packaging and recycling, has announced that Philipp Lehner (36) will take over as CEO from his father Günther Lehner (61) on 1 January 2021, placing the third generation of the Lehner family at the head of the company. Alpla said this succession has been in the works for years.

After a commercial apprenticeship, studies abroad, work in the finance and consulting industry, and an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School, Philipp joined Alpla in June 2014. From January 2019, he was responsible for finance, information technology, digitalisation and human resources.

As of January 2021, the five-member executive board will consist of Philipp Lehner, Nicolas Lehner (CCO), Ricardo Rehm (CFO), Klaus Allgäuer (CTO) and Walter Ritzer (COO). Günther Lehner will stay with the company as chairman and focus on developing its recycling and environmental service sectors.