Drewes prepares to take over as CEO at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics

Reiner Heiken has been CEO of Hellmann for more than five years.

“Reiner Heiken has positioned Hellmann very strongly over the past five years and set the course for the future. I look forward to building on this solid foundation with our international management and the entire Hellmann team to further develop the family business and expand our market position,” said Jens Drewes.

Prior to his time at Hellmann Heiken was CEO of the Europe region for Schenker and before that spent more than 19 years at Kuehne + Nagel, with management roles in central Europe, Germany and the Middle East.

Drewes spent 27 years at Kuehne + Nagel, with global senior management and director roles in Asia-Pacific, including China, Thailand and Cambodia, and Japan, as well as Australia.

Drewes takes over a stable business despite sales having dropped €1.5 billion in 2023, which the company said was anticipated and the result of the normalisation of the previously above-average freight rates during the pandemic. The company said that order volumes remained stable at around 20m shipments and it had expanded its market position, particularly in the Airfreight and Seafreight divisions. Hellmann said it had also experienced international growth in its Contract Logistics division, acquiring new customers and establishing new warehouses.

“Last year was characterised by a massive decline in rates across the industry and overcapacity in many product areas,” said Heiken. “Despite these challenges, we were able to maintain the number of shipments and gain market share. This success is a clear sign of our strength and adaptability in a dynamic market environment. It is also important to me that Hellmann is strategically very well positioned and that I can hand over the reins to Jens Drewes with great confidence at the end of the month.”