Management Board
GISBERT RÜHL
Born in 1959, German nationality, married with three children
Gisbert Rühl joined Roland Berger & Partner GmbH as a management consultant in 1987 after studying industrial engineering at Hamburg University. Thereafter he was appointed managing director of Lion Gesellschaft für Systementwicklung mbH. After occupying management positions with Matuschka Capital GmbH and Coutinho, Caro & Co, Mr. Rühl joined RÜTGERS AG in 1993.
He was appointed to the company’s Management Board and, among other duties, served as the chief executive officer of RÜTGERS Automotive AG. In 1999 he moved to Babcock Borsig AG, where he accepted the office of a Management Board member. From 2002 until 2005 he was a partner in Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.
In July 2005 Mr. Rühl has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of the Klöckner & Co Group. In November 2009 Mr. Rühl became Chairman of the Management Board of the Klöckner & Co SE. Until the end of 2012 he additionally still has been acting CFO.
In May 2019, in addition to his function as Chairman of the Management Board, Gisbert Rühl again assumed responsibility for the Finance Division, which was handed over to Dr. Oliver Falk on August 1, 2019.
As Chief Executive Officer Europe (CEO Europe), Gisbert Rühl additionally has been responsible for the operational business in Europe from August 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020.
Guido Kerkhoff
Chairman of the Management Board (CEO)
Born in 1967, Chairman of the Management Board of Klöckner & Co SE since May 13, 2021 and appointed until August 31, 2026. He is responsible for the coordination of the Management Board and functionally responsible for the divisions Corporate Strategy / M&A, Group HR, Pensions & Insurances, Investor Relations, Internal & External Communications, kloeckner.i (including Group IT), Legal & Governance / Risk / Compliance and Sustainability. In addition, he is responsible for the operational business in the Kloeckner Metals Europe segment and Strategic Procurement.
Born in 1967, German citizen, married, two children
Following his studies in business administration at Bielefeld University and Saarland University, Guido Kerkhoff worked from 1995 to 1996 in group accounting at the energy utility Vereinigte Elektrizitätswerke Westfalen (VEW) AG. Between 1996 and 2002, Mr. Kerkhoff held different positions with Bertelsmann AG, in areas including corporate financial reporting/controlling, where he headed the Department for Projects and Policies.
In 2002, Mr. Kerkhoff moved to Deutsche Telekom AG, where he served in various leadership roles in finance. In 2009, he joined Deutsche Telekom AG’s management board, where he was initially responsible for the Southern and Eastern Europe regions before overseeing all European operations from 2010.
After stepping into the role of Member of the Management Board and CFO at thyssenkrupp AG in April 2011, Mr. Kerkhoff served as the company’s CEO from September 2018 to September 2019.
Mr. Kerkhoff has been a Member of the Management Board since September 1, 2020 and since May 13, 2021 he became Chairman of the Management Board of Klöckner & Co SE.
Dr. Oliver Falk
Member of the Management Board (CFO)
Born in 1962, Member of the Management Board since August 1, 2019 and appointed until July 31, 2025. As Chief Financial Officer (CFO) he is responsible for Corporate Accounting / Governance & Finance Transformation, Corporate Controlling, Corporate Taxes, Corporate Treasury, Facility Management and Internal Audit.
Born in 1962, German nationality, married with two children
After studying business administration at Freie Universität Berlin, Universität zu Köln and obtaining his doctorate at Universität zu Köln Dr. Oliver Falk worked from 1992 for four years at Klöckner & Co AG at first in the controlling department then as Head of Central Division.
In 1996, the native of Mainz moved to Klöckner Chemiehandel GmbH as Commercial Director, after its sale he was appointed to the management of Klöckner Stahl- und Metallhandel GmbH in 1998. Later, the task was expanded to include Eastern Europe and then the Netherlands.
At the beginning of 2010, Dr. Oliver Falk moved to Klöckner & Co SE Holding, where he took over the Process Management & IT division until May, 2013. In October 2012, Dr. Oliver Falk became CFO and member of the Management Board of Klöckner & Co Deutschland GmbH. Since January 2017, he has also been Executive Vice President (CFO) of Kloeckner Metals Europe GmbH.
On August 1, 2019, Dr. Oliver Falk has been appointed as member of the Management Board and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Klöckner & Co SE.
John Ganem
Member of the Management Board (CEO Americas)
Born 1969, Member of the Management Board since August 1, 2019, and appointed until July 31, 2025. As Chief Executive Officer Americas (CEO Americas), he is responsible for operations in the Kloeckner Metals Americas segment.
Born in 1969, American nationality, married with two children
After graduating from Brown University with BA’s in Business Economics and Organizational Behavior and Management, John Ganem started working at LTV Steel in 1991, where he took over responsibility for direct automotive manufacturers and tier 1 suppliers as account manager.
In 1996 he joined Macsteel International USA where he held a leading management position as Vice-President being responsible for P&L and overall management of the North American Flat Rolled Trading Division until the end of 2002. Afterwards John Ganem became Vice President, USA Carbon Purchasing, with Samuel, Son & Company, where he was charged with developing USA based supply relationships.
In 2006 he returned to Macsteel Service Centers USA, which was acquired by Klöckner & Co in 2011. As Executive Vice-President for Kloeckner Metals Corporation John Ganem was accountable for all purchasing activities across the enterprise including long-term strategic planning, supplier relationships, supply chain strategy, inventory management, volume incentive agreements, global sourcing, price competitiveness, process control policies, and regulatory compliances. John Ganem was named CEO of Kloeckner Metals Corporation on January 1, 2018 and led a significant organizational transformation focused on improved operational efficiencies and effectiveness. Since 2015 he is an elected member to the Kloeckner Metals Corporation Board of Directors.
As of August 1, 2019, John Ganem has been appointed as Member of the Management Board and CEO Americas of Klöckner & Co SE.