Wienerberger Confirms Gerhard Hanke as Permanent CEO as Cost Pressures and Weak Demand Loom Over November Results

Wienerberger's supervisory board moved swiftly on Wednesday to end the uncertainty at the top of the brickmaker, appointing Gerhard Hanke as permanent chief executive with immediate effect. The decision closes a transitional chapter that began in August, when the succession process was set in motion after Heimo Scheuch's early contractual departure on health grounds. Hanke, who had been steering the company on an interim basis since then, now takes the role on a lasting footing.

The elevation is built on deep institutional knowledge. Hanke has spent more than 25 years at Wienerberger, serving previously as chief financial officer before taking operational responsibility for Central and Eastern Europe from March 2025. That combination of financial and operational experience is the main argument for continuity, though whether it translates into tangible progress will hinge on how the company handles the strains in its key markets. Hanke himself points to a difficult new-build sector, alongside soft demand and rising costs.

Regional Duties Redistributed

With Hanke moving up, his former Central and Eastern Europe responsibilities pass to the extended leadership team. The reshuffle is otherwise deliberately narrow: finance chief Dagmar Steinert and Harald Schwarzmayr, the board member responsible for the western business, both keep their existing remits. Execution will therefore depend on how the executive board and the wider management group work together.

The financial backdrop is demanding. Wienerberger posted revenue of EUR 4.6 billion and an operating EBITDA of EUR 754 million in 2025. Those figures frame the task facing the new leadership at a time when both sales volumes and costs are under pressure.

A Governance Filing and a Lowered Outlook

Separately, the company disclosed a non-cash share transfer by supervisory board member David Davies, who passed 17,180 shares to his wife, Paulette Davies. The filing, published as a managerial transaction, lists a price of EUR 0 and names her spouse as the source of the stock. It is a transfer between a board member and a related party, not a market sale.

Investors, though, have had their attention fixed elsewhere. Wienerberger has scheduled publication of its results for the first nine months of 2026 for November 12, with an earnings call set for 12:00 CET. Alongside that release, the company has promised an update on its strategic review and on accelerated cost-cutting measures.

The urgency is easy to understand. Wienerberger has cut its full-year guidance for operating EBITDA to EUR 640–650 million, citing persistently weak demand and faster cost inflation. Residential construction in the United Kingdom and North America has been singled out as particularly hard hit.

Shares Under Pressure

The stock has reflected that gloom. It fell 2.3% on Wednesday and was among the weaker names in an otherwise firmer ATX, which gained on the day. A separate reading put the decline at 5.2% as the succession announcement was digested. Either way, the direction was clear: the leadership question is settled, but the operating challenges are not. Demand, cost development and the November figures will decide how investors judge the new chief executive's tenure.