Dr. Judith Hartmann to become new Chief Financial Officer of Bayer AG
08 November 2025, Leverkusen: The Supervisory Board of Bayer AG has appointed Dr. Judith Hartmann to the company’s Board of Management, effective March 1, 2026. She will succeed Wolfgang Nickl as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on June 1, 2026, following his planned retirement at the end of May 2026. Dr. Hartmann is currently an Operating Partner at Sandbrook Capital, a private investment firm focused on building leading climate infrastructure companies. Previously, she served as Chief Financial Officer and deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at ENGIE, a global energy company based in France, and as Group CFO at Bertelsmann, a Germany-based media, services, and education company. Earlier in her career, she held various management positions at the US technology company General Electric (GE) in the United States, Europe, and Brazil.
“With Judith Hartmann, Bayer is gaining a highly accomplished leader with vast international experience. She brings both strategic insight and strong operational skills. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated transformational leadership – guiding businesses through challenges and discovering new opportunities. We are convinced that she will make a great contribution to the future of the company,” said Professor Dr. Norbert Winkeljohann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bayer AG. “Wolfgang Nickl has built a strong foundation over the past seven years as CFO. Under his leadership, the structure and operations have been dramatically simplified with further improvements in the effectiveness of the organization and extensive efficiency gains. We are very grateful for this.”
Dr. Judith Hartmann studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, where she received a master’s degree in business administration, and a Ph.D. in Economics in 1997. She joined The Walt Disney Company in Paris, before moving to General Electric (GE) in 2000, where she worked in roles of increasing responsibility in both financial and operational capacities across the USA, Europe and Latin America, including positions with GE’s healthcare and energy divisions. In 2012 Dr. Hartmann was appointed Group CFO at Bertelsmann. She joined ENGIE in 2015, where she held several leadership positions, including Deputy CEO and Group CFO, later also serving as interim Co-CEO. In addition to her global responsibilities, she also oversaw ENGIE’s regional operations in North America and the UK & Ireland. In 2023 she took on her current role of Operating Partner at Sandbrook Capital.
Alongside her executive roles, Dr. Hartmann is an accomplished Non-Executive Director of several large companies. She served on the Board of Unilever, a global consumer goods company, from 2015 to 2024 and joined the Board of Directors of Marsh McLennan, a global professional services company, in 2023. In 2025 she joined the Board of Ørsted, the world’s largest offshore wind energy company. She was also a Non-Executive Director at Suez from 2015 to 2020, and rejoined the Board in 2023 after the company’s privatization. Earlier in her career she was on the Boards of RTL Group, as well as Electrabel, International Power, Penguin Random House and Gruner & Jahr.
Outside of her professional life, Dr. Hartmann is a skilled mountaineer, including high-altitude expeditions, and proficient skier. She is also active in the arts, with a focus on painting and supporting artists.
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