Christian Bako will take over the management of Saint-Gobain Germany & Austria and thus responsibility for more than 8,000 employees. He succeeds Raimund Heinl, who is retiring after almost four decades with the company. The change marks a planned step that continues the further development of the organisation, according to the company.
Bako brings with him around 20 years of experience in the construction and building materials industry. After studying business administration, he started at window and door technology specialist Roto Frank, where he rose to the position of Managing Director for France. After a stint at fittings specialist VBH, he moved to Saint-Gobain in 2017, initially as Chief Digital Officer of the European glass division, then as Managing Director of Glassolutions Germany and later as Managing Director of Saint-Gobain Abrasives in Central Europe.
Since 2023, he has been responsible for global marketing and the further development of the global portfolio on the Executive Committee in Paris. This means that Bako knows the company from different regions, divisions and strategic perspectives – a key basis for his new role.
Bako's strategic focus: Lead & Grow
Saint-Gobain
With this change in leadership, Saint-Gobain is relying on a CEO who combines digitalisation, customer focus and integrated solutions. Bako emphasises that he wants to build on and expand the foundation laid in recent years: ‘We are aligning Saint-Gobain Germany & Austria even more closely with the needs of our customers. We listen, shorten processes and give our teams responsibility. This way, good ideas quickly turn into tangible results.’
He sees the new Lead & Grow corporate strategy as a crucial framework for bundling the diverse product portfolio into integrated solutions that simplify construction processes and create sustainable added value.
Bako expressly thanks his predecessor Heinl for setting a clear course. Heinl successfully guided Saint-Gobain through the pandemic, the energy crisis and the challenges of the current construction market, and initiated important future projects with the digitalisation of the sites and the establishment of Saint-Gobain Solutions.
