The Phoenix Group announces a change to its Executive Board with effect from February 1, 2026. Steve Anderson and Stefan Herfeld will resign from their Executive Board mandates at their own request. The successors of the two managers will be Joachim Sowada and Wolfgang Wallisch. Sowada will assume responsibility for the Executive Board's Operations & Logistics division, Wallisch for the Executive Board's Commercial & Marketing division.
Steve Anderson, currently group-wide responsible for the Executive Board's Operations & Logistics division, will resume his position as managing director of Phoenix UK, which he has held since 2016, in full. Stefan Herfeld, who had been responsible for the Executive Board's Commercial & Marketing division, will
leave Phoenix to pursue his career outside the company. Both board members have left a lasting imprint on the company, according to Phoenix. Steve Anderson has been the driving force behind the Europe-wide transformation of the company toward even greater operational excellence and the introduction of Lean Management. Stefan Herfeld, during his 15-year tenure on the Management Board, influenced the expansion of Phoenix's pharmacy retail business and subsequently contributed to partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry, the development of own brands and digitalization in the Commercial & Marketing area.
„On behalf of the shareholders and the supervisory board, I would like to thank Steve Anderson and Stefan Herfeld for their long-standing dedicated commitment
to the company. Their strategic contributions have significantly shaped the development of Phoenix. I wish them continued success,“ says Dr. Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Phoenix Group.
Joachim Sowada joined Phoenix in 2007. He held leadership positions in the Slovak subsidiary as well as in the regional organization for Serbia and the Western Balkans before taking on his current position as Managing Director of Phoenix Pharma Italia. Wolfgang Wallisch is Managing Director of Phoenix Pharma in Hungary. He joined the company in 1996 and has since held various management positions within several group companies in Europe.
Both will, in addition to their board mandates, continue to carry out
their duties in the Phoenix local subsidiaries.
„With Joachim Sowada and Wolfgang Wallisch, we appoint two experienced executives from within the company who bring a deep understanding of our business. The continuation of their local leadership roles strengthens the close link between the strategic decisions of the Board and the day-to-day operations of our local subsidiaries,“ says Dr. Scheifele.
„I warmly welcome my new colleagues on the Phoenix Group's Board. I look forward to a close and successful collaboration. Together, we will ensure that Phoenix continues to fulfill its role as a leading healthcare provider and supplies millions of people with medicines and health products,“ says Sven Seidel, CEO of the Phoenix
