Wienerberger Hands Hanke the Helm for Good, Redistributes His Eastern Europe Brief

Gerhard Hanke has been confirmed as Wienerberger's permanent chief executive, ending an interim stint that began in August when Heimo Scheuch stepped down early for health reasons. The supervisory board said it weighed both internal and external candidates before settling on the 25-year company veteran, who ran the finances from 2021 to 2025 before taking operational charge of Central and Eastern Europe.

His appointment comes with a reshuffle attached. Responsibility for Central and Eastern Europe — Hanke's former patch — now sits with the expanded leadership team, while the rest of the board keeps its existing remit. Dagmar Steinert stays on as finance chief and Harald Schwarzmayr continues to lead the Western region. The reorganization is confined to the territory Hanke vacated.

A CFO's Eye on a Tough Market

The new chief executive inherits a demanding backdrop: soft demand in key markets, rising costs and a difficult new-build environment. His blend of financial and operational experience underpins the board's choice — provided that knowledge translates into a workable response to the pressure on volumes and margins.

The scale of the challenge is visible in the last full set of accounts. Wienerberger posted revenue of EUR 4.6 billion in 2025 and an operating EBITDA of EUR 754 million.

Guidance Cut and a Date With Investors

That figure now looks out of reach. Wienerberger has trimmed its full-year operating EBITDA guidance to EUR 640–650 million, citing persistently weak demand and accelerating cost inflation. Residential construction in the United Kingdom and North America is bearing the brunt.

The company has set 12 November for publication of its results for the first nine months of 2026, with an earnings call scheduled for 12:00 CET. Alongside the quarterly report, Wienerberger has promised an update on its strategic review and on the accelerated cost-cutting program.

A Boardroom Gift, Filed as Required

Separately, the company disclosed a transfer of shares by supervisory board member David Davies, who handed 17,180 shares to his wife, Paulette Davies, free of charge. The filing, published as a managerial transaction, lists Paulette Davies as the recipient, a price of EUR 0 and David Davies as the source of the stock — a transfer between a board member and a related party.

Shares Slip on a Firm Day for the ATX

The stock traded lower through the session, down 2.3% by midday on Wednesday, according to media reports, making it one of the weaker names in an otherwise firmer ATX, which gained on the day. Other reports put the decline at 2.8%. Either way, the leadership announcement landed on a soft day for Wienerberger shares.

What matters for investors now is execution under the reorganized board. The redistribution of regional duties and the unchanged portfolios of the remaining directors set the framework; the nine-month figures and the cost-cutting blueprint will show whether the new team can deliver against them.