Swiss industrial family business head steps down

Hans-Peter Endress, managing director of family-owned Endress+Hauser, has stepped down after 25 years, while his son becomes the first third-generation family member to enter the Swiss business.

Sixty-four-year-old Endress, son of the company founder, is to become chairman of the group and will be succeeded as managing director by non-family David Newell, a spokeswoman confirmed to CampdenFB.

At the same time, Endress’s 32-year-old son Steven is to join the UK division of the family business, which specialises in industrial engineering, in a managerial role.

“Family members are encouraged to work within all the departments of the business. Steven’s complete position has not been finalised yet,” the spokeswoman added.

Endress’s younger brother Klaus will continue as chief executive of the €1.3 billion Reinach, Switzerland-based firm, which makes instruments for measuring pressure and temperature.

Founded in 1953 by Georg Endress and Ludwig Hauser, the company is 96% owned by the Endress family members, with the remaining held by the family’s charitable trust.