Bechtle co-founder Gerhard Schick celebrates 80th birthday
- Company founder and long-time leading light at Bechtle is 80 years old today
- Recognition of enduring leadership
Neckarsulm, 5 May 2020 – Gerhard Schick, co-founder and long-term Chairman of the Bechtle Executive and Supervisory Boards is celebrating his 80th birthday today. Holder of the German Federal Cross of Merit, to this day he remains closely involved with Bechtle as honorary Chair of the Supervisory Board and anchor shareholder in Bechtle AG.
“We, the 11,768 Bechtle employees, today have great pleasure in wishing Gerhard Schick a very happy 80th birthday,” says Dr Thomas Olemotz, CEO of Bechtle AG. “Bechtle’s corporate success story is forever entwined with the name Gerhard Schick. His expertise, devotion to the values of determination and integrity, good business acumen and his ability to continue developing the company to meet market requirements defined his highly successful career at the company helm. Bechtle is his life’s work.”
Born in 1940, after completing his vocational training in industrial business management, Gerhard Schick headed the accounting department, first at Laauser GmbH & Co. KG in Spiegelberg, Germany, then at Witte & Sutor GmbH in Murrhardt, before switching to commercial management. He was subsequently employed at Wilhelm Bott GmbH & Co. KG from 1967 to 1994, where he worked his way up to the position of managing director. He became one of Bechtle’s managing directors way back in 1983, and in 2000 he took the reins as CEO of the listed Bechtle AG.
From March 2004 to 2012, as well as temporarily from late 2013 to June 2014, he was Chair of the Bechtle Supervisory Board. In 2005, Gerhard Schick received the German Federal Cross of Merit for his entrepreneurial achievements and civic commitment. He has been awarded various business medals and is an honorary citizen of the city of Gaildorf. As the principle shareholder, Gerhard Schick’s daughter, Karin, holds 35.02 per cent of Bechtle’s shares.