Henne, Althoff, Wimmer
A generational change has taken place at the German Logistics Association (BVL): After 25 years, Thomas Wimmer has handed over the position of Chairman of the Board to Kai Althoff (CEO of 4flow SE). Ilse Henne completes the Executive Committee as Vice Chairwoman.
Althoff was newly elected to the BVL's executive board by the board, along with Ilse Henne (member of the executive board of thyssenkrupp AG, CEO of thyssenkrupp Materials Services) as deputy chair. In addition to Thomas Wimmer, Frank Dreeke (CEO of BLG Logistics Group) has also left the executive board, as his term expires at the end of the year. Stephan Wohler (board member of Edeka Minden-Hannover), the treasurer, ensures continuity on the executive board.
Thomas Wimmer became a member of the BVL (German Logistics Association) in 1985 and joined the management board in 1999. He had also been a member of the executive board since 2016 and became its full-time chairman in 2020. With this change, the BVL once again has a volunteer chairman, while the full-time management board in Bremen consists of Silke Fischer and Christoph Meyer. This, it is said, restores the proven combination of three economic sectors to the BVL executive board: industry (Ilse Henne), trade (Stephan Wohler), and services and IT (Kai Althoff). Last week, the new executive board members and Thomas Wimmer met at thyssenkrupp headquarters in Essen for a photo opportunity.
“It is a great honor to be able to assume this position,” said Althoff. “The BVL is the world’s largest active network of logistics and supply chain professionals. The opportunities this creates represent a real competitive advantage for Germany. To leverage this as effectively as possible, we must develop the BVL as rapidly as the entire industry is doing.”
“I am delighted to have been elected deputy chair of the board,” said Ilse Henne. “Thomas Wimmer and Frank Dreeke have significantly shaped and strengthened the BVL through their work. We now want to build on this foundation and contribute together to the further development of the industry.”
Frank Dreeke also described the decision to appoint Ilse Henne as the first woman to the leadership team as "great news." Thomas Wimmer took this opportunity to thank the entire board, Stephan Wohler and Frank Dreeke, his fellow board members, the full-time staff at the office, and all BVL members "whose tremendous voluntary commitment sustains this association. It has been and remains an honor for me to serve the BVL."
Thomas Wimmer's official farewell will take place at the BVL Supply Chain CX conference in Berlin in October. Kai Althoff is the CEO of 4flow, a provider of logistics consulting, logistics software, and 4PL services. Althoff co-founded 4flow in 2000 and served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) until 2020, responsible for the company's global operations. Althoff developed 4flow into a multi-award-winning global supply chain partner.
Ilse Henne has been with thyssenkrupp since 1999 and has served as CEO of several of the Group's international companies. Since 2019, she has been a member of the Executive Board and Chief Transformation Officer of thyssenkrupp Materials Services, and in 2024 she became a member of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp AG. As of June 7, Ilse Henne has also assumed the role of CEO of thyssenkrupp Materials Services.
