The BIRKENSTOCK Group restructures sales for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. With effect from July 1, 2015, the EMEA Region (Europe/Middle East/Africa) will be split into two separate regions under new management. This also brings two additions to the global sales team. Responsibility will be placed in the hands of Klaus Baumann (46) for Europe and Michael Schmitz (38) for the Middle East and Africa. In their functions as Area Managers, both will report directly to Dieter Klingenberg, Chief Sales Officer of the BIRKENSTOCK Group. The global footwear brand has made this step in response to outstanding growth in the region.

Klaus Baumann brings many years of experience in the global footwear segment to handle the challenges of his new task. Before moving to BIRKENSTOCK, he held numerous international positions at Camper, the Spanish footwear brand. Most recently, he held the position of General Manager for the DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) region at Camper.

With effect from July 1, 2015, responsibility for the Middle East and Africa will rest in the capable hands of Michael Schmitz. In addition to this function, the graduate in business administration will also hold responsibility for new business and the management of international key accounts. Michael Schmitz comes to BIRKENSTOCK from Nike Deutschland. His most recent position there was Commercial Director of the Converse brand with responsibility for the core markets Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Prior to this, he worked for Collective Brands PLG BV and the sports footwear manufacturer New Balance.

Michael Schmitz also possesses many years of international experience in the footwear segment. His new tasks at BIRKENSTOCK are the promotion of worldwide expansion and an intensification of the focus on strategic cross-border customers. He will be working on these tasks in close cooperation with Ulf Jenson, Key Account Manager Europe. The graduate in economics has been with BIRKENSTOCK since 2014 and is primarily responsible for handling the accounts of major customers and international online traders.