Thomas Raiser, the long-serving head of sales and marketing at BarthHaas, the world’s leading hop services provider, will become the new Managing Director Market as of August 1, 2024. In his new role, he will be responsible for purchasing, supply chain management, and sales/marketing. The 55-year-old will join Peter Hintermeier and Oliver Bergner as the third managing director with effect from August 1, 2023.
Peter Hintermeier is retiring on July 31, 2024. Thomas Raiser and Oliver Bergner, who is responsible for human resources and finance, will then lead the company in the tried-and-tested tandem management structure. During the transition phase, Raiser will continue to focus on sales until a successor has been found and onboarded.
“I’m looking forward to this new role and the possibility it gives me to bring my extensive experience in the international hop business to bear in a wider area of responsibility at BarthHaas. The hop market is wide-ranging and offers a lot of variety; even after 30 years, it is as exciting as ever and still presents quite a few challenges”, says Raiser commenting on his appointment. “I’ve known Thomas for more than 20 years and am delighted that he has been chosen. With his experience and knowledge of the company he’ll be able to hit the ground running, allowing us to tackle new projects from day one,” says Peter Hintermeier.
Raiser’s appointment was preceded by a thorough selection process. Thanks to his experience, his personality, and, above all, his ideas on the further development of the company, he was able to come out on top against a strong field of external candidates. The members of the Board of Directors voted unanimously in his favor. “We are very pleased that Thomas Raiser is willing to take on this responsibility and that we were able to win him over for this position” adds Stephan Barth, one of the company’s shareholders and chair of the board. “Having him on the management board will enable us to maintain continuity at the top of the company, as he has for years been a member of the management team that has shaped and implemented our strategy.”
Thomas Raiser began his career in 1990 as a trainee and went on to become sales manager with Hopunion Raiser, Scharrer KG, Nuremberg. He joined BarthHaas in 2000 and today, as well as being head of sales and marketing, is a member of various committees within the Group. By the time he completed his education, Raiser had already gained extensive international experience: He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Science in Japanese Business Studies at the Chaminade University of Honolulu and Tokyo.
With the new management board and the management team, BarthHaas has two strong bodies who are responsible for the future-oriented design of the family company and thus enable it to leverage more strongly than ever the potential of hops and other naturally occurring substances as natural flavorings. In addition to the managing directors, the management team includes Thomas Kastner, head of supply chain management, and Stephan Schinagl, head of purchasing.