Rapidly expanding

100 days after his appointment as Group CEO of Fressnapf | Maxi Zoo, Matt Simister has finalised the composition of his management team, the company announced in a press release in December. The new management structure is designed to provide clear support for the company’s strategic direction and ensure the smooth implementation of its international growth strategy. It reflects the increasing operational complexity of a rapidly expanding European business and creates clearly defined responsibilities in all regions and functions.

The Group CEO has appointed Patrick Bontenakels (Central and Eastern Europe) and Sven Girmendonk (Western Europe) as managing directors for international markets. The country managers of the respective regions report directly to them. Both represent the countries on the executive management Board together with Norbert Marschallinger, managing director Germany, and Guillaume Seneclauze, managing director Italy at Arcaplanet, who continue to have direct mandates.

In addition, according to the Krefeld-based pet retail chain, the area of responsibility of COO Daniel Behlert will be expanded so that he will be responsible for the entire end-to-end operational business in future. Also, Florian Wieser joined the Executive Management Board as CFO on 1 January.

The company’s shareholders have decided that the chairmanship should be filled independently at the level of the board of directors in order to ensure balanced representation of all shareholder interests. Effective from 1 January, Dr Peter Breuer, former senior partner at McKinsey and a member of the board of directors since 2024, assumed the role of Chairman.  

‘With Peter Breuer as chairman, the board of directors can provide the best possible support to Group CEO Matt Simister and his management team while securing the ambitious growth course,’ clarified founder Torsten Toeller, who will remain an active member of the board of directors: ‘I can now focus even more strongly on the long-term strategic direction of the company.’

Furthermore, the Fressnapf Group has opened an Asia Sourcing Office in Hong Kong, marking a pivotal milestone in the company’s global growth strategy. The new entity, Fressnapf Asia Limited, positions Europe’s leading omnichannel pet retailer closer to its Asian supplier base and enhances its ability to deliver innovative, high-quality, and competitively priced products in an increasingly dynamic global market, according to the press release.

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