Group Management - Responsibilities and functions
The Lindt & Sprüngli Group Management is responsible for the implementation of Group strategies. In addition, the individual members of Group Management must lead their allocated functional and responsibility areas within the framework of the Group policy in compliance with instructions given by the CEO and the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. On the basis of a matrix structure, the individual Group Management members are given line responsibility for entire country organizations and geographical areas, together with functional responsibility for specific areas.
Dr Adalbert Lechner (AT)
Group CEO
PhD in Law — After receiving his doctorate in law, Mr. Lechner held several management positions in marketing and sales with L’Oréal and Johnson & Johnson. He joined the Lindt & Sprüngli Group as CEO of the Austrian subsidiary company in 1993. He was then appointed CEO of the German subsidiary Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli GmbH in 1997. He was a member of Extended Group Management from 2011 until 2016. As of January 1, 2017, he is a member of Group Management. On October 1, 2022, he took over as CEO of the Lindt & Sprüngli Group. The Group functions Group Communications, Global Retail and Transformation report directly to him.
Martin Hug (CH)
Group CFO
lic. oec. — Mr. Hug started his career ascending through various roles with a leading global coffee trading company in Latin America (Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Honduras), ultimately as a Finance Director in Costa Rica, before he joined Lindt & Sprüngli (International) AG in 2004 as Senior Controller. Shortly after, he was promoted to CFO at Lindt & Sprüngli UK. From 2011 to the end of 2016, he held the position of CFO at Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in California (USA). As of January 1, 2017, he has been Group CFO and a member of Group Management, where he is responsible for Finance, IT, Procurement, and Sustainability. The CFO also chairs the Executive Sustainability Committee, composed of the Group General Counsel and the Group Management member responsible for Operations.
Alain Germiquet (CH)
Country Responsibility
lic. oec. — Mr. Germiquet started his career in the Sales division of two notable mineral oil companies before joining Hiestand in 1999, where he was quickly promoted from Marketing Director to Managing Director. In 2005, he became Commercial Director at Nestlé, and in 2007 he joined Lindt & Sprüngli, first as CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli UK and then as CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli France from 2009 to 2016. On January 1, 2017, he joined Group Management, where he has been responsible for the development of specific markets and International Sales.
Guido Steiner (CH)
International Operations
Dipl. Lm-Ing. ETH — Mr. Steiner began his career as assistant at the chair for Business Administration at ETH in Zurich. In 1990, he joined Lindt & Sprüngli as Assistant Manager of Group Production Planning. Two years later he was promoted to Group Production Planning Manager. From 1998 until 2003, he was Vice President of Operations at Lindt & Sprüngli USA. In 2003, he returned to headquarters as Vice President of Operations. Since January 1, 2017, he has been a member of Group Management and continues to be in charge of Group Operations. Together with the CFO (Chair) and the Group General Counsel, Mr. Steiner is also a member of the Executive Sustainability Committee.
Dr Jennifer Picenoni (CH)
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Dr. iur. — Ms. Picenoni started her career as an attorney in a law firm in 2002 after completing her doctorate. She joined Lindt & Sprüngli (International) AG in 2007 as Senior Legal Counsel. In 2008, she was promoted to Head of Corporate Legal and, in 2014, to Group General Counsel. In 2017, Ms. Picenoni took on the additional responsibility as Corporate Secretary of the Group. Since January 2020, she has been a member of the Group Management, responsible for Group Legal, Intellectual Property and Legal Compliance. Together with the CFO (Chair) and the Group Management member responsible for Operations, Ms. Picenoni is also a member of the Executive Sustainability Committee.
Daniel Studer (CH)
Country Responsibility
lic. iur. — Mr. Studer started his professional career at Unilever in Brand Marketing before joining the Lindt & Sprüngli Switzerland subsidiary in 2003, where he held various leadership roles in sales, followed by the Head of International Sales position at the Group’s headquarters. In 2009, he was appointed as Country Manager of Lindt & Sprüngli Mexico. Two years later, he transferred to the USA, where he was first appointed VP Sales and then, in 2016, CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli USA. As of September 1, 2022, he has been a member of the Group Management and is responsible for the development of specific markets and Global Marketing.
Nicole Uhrmeister (CH)
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
MAS Human Capital Management ZHAW — Ms. Uhrmeister began her career working in local HR functions in several companies before she joined Coca-Cola HBC (Switzerland) AG as a Compensation & Benefits Specialist in 2004 and was promoted to HR Controlling Manager in 2006. In 2010, she took on the role of Country HR Director Switzerland. After five years, in 2015, she was again promoted to Group Labor Relations and Regional HR Director. In 2016, she joined the Capri Sun Group Holding as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). On November 1, 2023, she took on the role of CHRO at Lindt & Sprüngli and became a member of the Group Management.
Ana Dominguez (COL/CAN)
Country Responsibility
MBA – After completing her master’s degree in business administration in 1996, Ms. Dominguez held various leadership positions in marketing, sales, and general management for Proctor & Gamble, SC Johnson, and Campbell’s in South and North America. She joined the Lindt & Sprüngli Group in 2019 as CEO of the Canadian subsidiary. In 2022, she was appointed CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli USA, leading the subsidiary in the world’s largest chocolate market. On July 1, 2024, Ana Dominguez joined the Lindt & Sprüngli Group Management, where she is responsible for the development of specific markets.
