Kao appoints Guido Kirchhoff as new President Functions Operations EMEA

Kao announced today that effective July 1st, Guido Kirchhoff has been appointed President Functions Operations for its EMEA Consumer Products organization. Guido Kirchhoff, currently Vice President Supply Chain EMEA, will follow Herbert Tripp who is retiring after 35 years of service for the company.
 
In addition to Supply Chain management, Guido Kirchhoff will lead the functions Accounting & Finance, HCD, Legal, EIS and Corporate Communications in his new role. Furthermore, Research and Development, one of Kao´s core competencies, will have an additional reporting line into Guido Kirchhoff, next to their reporting
line into the company´s Japanese headquarters.
  
With Guido Kirchhoff, Kao is promoting an internal talent and supply chain expert who knows the company since 2004 when he joined Kao after assignments with Procter & Gamble and Wella. For 18 years, Guido Kirchhoff has been playing a key role in managing complex operational challenges and opportunities such as the integration of Salon brand KMS after its acquisition, the integration of the Molton Brown supply chain and the modernization and automation of Kao´s two European factories. With his experience in leading large diverse teams, his strong Supply Chain management expertise and his passion for ESG, Guido Kirchhoff is the ideal leader to provide the direction and continuity necessary to pursue the company´s K25 growth strategies.
 
“I feel very honored to follow Herbert Tripp as President Functions Operations. Herbert´s leadership was invaluable to Kao over the past 35 years and specifically to the Kao EMEA Consumer Products Business over the past 2 years", said Guido Kirchhoff. “In my extended role and together with my colleagues in the functions, it will be our key priority to best support our business units in achieving their targets. I am confident that we can respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic and the current economic and political climate with strong strategies and actions to further drive the growth of the EMEA region for the Kao business.”