Group Executive Committee

Dr. Wiedmann previously held the position of General Manager for the Business Segment Special Applications and Member of the Executive Board of the Business Division Aftermarket and Special Applications at Hella GmbH & Co KGaA.

Dr. Wiedmann brings many years of experience in managing global businesses and implementing change processes. Apart from his most recent position at the automotive supplier Hella GmbH & Co KGaA, he held executive roles at Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG, a polymer processing company producing plastic packaging amongst others, and Johnson Controls Automotive Europe in Germany.

The PhD physicist has successfully built up innovation and product roadmaps, led merger and acquisition activities and introduced new customer and Supply Chain Management strategies to ensure efficient and sustainable business growth. During his tenure at McKinsey & Company in Duesseldorf, he led international consultant and client teams as Engagement Manager, focusing on automotive, high-tech and TIME industries (telecommunications, information technology, media and electronics).

Dr. Wiedmann is married and has two children.

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In September 2017 he was appointed to the board of management of Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA overseeing the company’s packaging business for the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Since 2016, Breitkopf, as Head of Flexible Packaging, oversaw the largest business unit in the EMEA region.

Breitkopf was born 24 April, 1976 in Bocholt, Germany. He received both his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and his Master of Business Administration (MSc) in Business Management from the Westfaelische Wilhelms University in Muenster, Germany. In June 2007, Breitkopf received his PhD in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Switzerland where he graduated magna cum laude.

Prior to joining Siegwerk, Breitkopf held roles of increasing importance in the leading global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company. In their Duesseldorf office he worked as a strategic consultant for industrial companies, B2B organizations and other clients in chemistry, automotive and high-tech sectors. Breitkopf began as a Consultant in 2002, he became a Project Manager in July 2008 and was promoted to Junior Partner in July 2010. He left McKinsey in June 2012 to join Siegwerk.

Dr. Jan Breitkopf is married and has three children.

Van Laack brings a broad range of professional expertise and experience from his years at Siegwerk. He joined the company in 2008 as a trainee in Logistics Management and has made an impressive career, taking on several key leadership roles.

During his nearly eight years in the field of Transport and Logistics, van Laack was promoted to the Head of Transport & Logistics department in 2013.

In 2016, he took on the role of Site Manager and Post Merger Integration Manager of the Buedingen (Germany) site of the newly acquired Actega Colorchemie business and successfully lead the turnaround.

In 2018, van Laack was appointed Regional Sales Director of Flexible Packaging EMEA, holding responsibility for many international key accounts of Siegwerk and coordinating sales activities - also in the Americas region.

In his role as Vice President Business Unit Paper & Board EMEA and Liquid Food Packaging, which he assumed in 2021, he developed and implemented the strategic direction for both business units. Furthermore, van Laack initiated Siegwerk’s activity in the field of functional coatings and thus laid the foundation for the company’s stand-alone business unit for CE Coatings, which was established in 2024.

Van Laack was born in Cologne on March 17, 1988. After leaving school and completing alternative national service, he started a voc. education as “Kaufmann für Spedition- und Logistikdienstleistung” and studied Logistics Management receiving a Bachelor’s degree. In addition he obtained a Master of Business Administration degree in General Management.

Christopher van Laack is married and has two children.

Since January 2024, he is also part of the newly-formed Group Executive Committee, established to better reflect Siegwerk's global presence and thus the significance of the Asian region in its global strategy.

Pradhan joined Siegwerk in 2015 as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Indian business and took over as CEO of Siegwerk India in 2016. Three years later, in 2019, he then became President India and Greater China before assuming his current role as President Asia in 2021.

Before joining Siegwerk, he worked in different capacities within the global packaging industry for companies including International Paper, Henkel, Positive Packaging, and Huhtamaki. By now, he looks back now on more than 30 years of experience in the chemical and packaging industry.

Pradhan has a degree in Mechanical Engineering of the University of Mumbai and gained different post-graduate qualifications in management. Pradhan has completed executive education from Harvard and INSEAD, France, and also holds a Diploma in International Trade, from the Indian Institute of Materials Management and a Diploma in Packaging from the Institute of Packaging, UK.

Ashish Pradhan is married and has two children.