Following Patrick Lambertz 's move to his new role as CFO of the DERTOUR Group, the successor to his previous role has been finalised. On 1 March, Philipp Ost, 47, will join REWE Group as Head of M&A / Investment Management. He will report directly to Telerik Schischmanow, member of the REWE Group Management Board and CFO. Philipp Ost, who holds a degree in business administration, started his career in corporate finance at Wintershall Holding in 2007. he moved to BASF SE in 2011. He worked there for five years as Senior Manager Acquisitions & Valuation. This was followed by a position as Head of Risk Management/M&A Procurement and then Head of Controlling for the crop protection business. Since 2023, he has been Vice President Controlling & IT Battery Materials & Catalysts.

Kevin Fritscher On 1 February, Kevin Fritscher, 30,, took over the role of Head of HR Services Occupational Health & Safety in the CoE Personnel Management division. In his new role, he reports to the Head of CoE Personnel Management, Dr Philip Merten.before joining REWE Group, Kevin Fritscher held various positions at Lidl, most recently as Head of the Safety and Authorities Management department.

Mirko Sauerbach was appointed Senior Buyer Cut Flowers & Herbs on 15 January. He has taken over this responsibility from Ralf Philippi, who is retiring after more than twenty years with the company. Mirko Sauerbach joined the REWE Group in 2005 as a trained wholesale and foreign trade merchant and has been working in Purchasing since 2007, most recently as Category Buyer Ultrafrische 1. In addition to Cut Flowers & Herbs, he is also responsible for data and listing management in Ultrafrische 1.

Jöran Mahr Jöran Mahr, 34, took over responsibility for the newly created Market Concepts & Equipment department in PENNY's national sales department as Head of Market Concepts & Equipment on 1 January. After four years in operational store operations at Lidl at the beginning of his career, Mahr gained five years of experience in an external management consultancy with a focus on process optimisation. This was followed by a move to REWE Group's in-house consulting department, where he supported and managed various projects for four years. Since March 2024, he has been responsible for the project management of store concepts and fittings at PENNY. Keno Schulz has also been Head of Coordination & Communication in the National Sales department at PENNY since the beginning of the year. Schulz started his career at PENNY in October 2016 as a district manager in the former Lehrte region, before moving to Cologne in October 2020 as Process Manager Discount National. He has been responsible for the Communication & Coordination department since June 2022. Before joining PENNY, Schulz worked as Head of Sales at Aldi Süd. Jöran Mahr and Keno Schulz both report to the National Sales Department Manager, Julian D. Bluhm.

Draga Cukjati On 1 March, Draga Cukjati will take over the role of CFO Penny Romania following a successful induction. She succeeds Raffaele Balestra and will report to Michael Jäger, Divisional Director Penny International. Draga Cukjati joined REWE International AG in September 2023 and has been working as Senior Finance Advisor for BILLA CEE and Penny International since February 2024, where she has supported our countries in various strategic initiatives such as cost management, working capital and real estate management. Prior to joining RIAG, she held various management positions in finance in Croatia and Slovenia, most recently as CFO of Mercator, the largest Slovenian retailer.

Raffaele Balestra Raffaele Balestra, CFO of Penny Romania, will return to Penny Italy as a member of the managing directors on 1 March after handing over his duties to Draga Cukjati. He will take over the position of CFO there after completing his induction programme. He will report to Michael Jäger. Raffaele Balestra joined Penny Italy in July 2011 and worked there as Director Finance and Accounting since 2013 before being seconded to Romania in May 2020 to take on the role of CFO Penny Romania.

Wolfgang Vogt Wolfgang Vogt, CFO Penny Italy, will gradually hand over his duties as CFO toRaffaele Balestra and, at the same time, take on the role of Finance & Accounting Project Cluster Owner as part of the NEO project. As of 1 January 2026, Vogt will then fully assume this key strategic function for REWE Group and thus ensure the successful transition to a modernised IT landscape within the framework of NEO for the countries. He will also report to Michael Jäger in his new function. Vogt joined toom Baumarkt DIY store in December 2004 as Head of Strategy Development. After holding various positions in the REWE Group, Vogt was CFO toom Baumarkt DIY store from February 2012 before taking over responsibility for PENNY MARKET Italia s.r.l. as CFO in January 2019.