P R E S S R E L E A S E

Dr Eric Bernhard appointed Chief Executive Officer,
Dr Hans-Gert Mayrose to leave Executive Board end of the year

Wuppertal, 30 May 2016 - The Supervisory Board of GESCO AG has appointed Dr Eric Bernhard Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 July 2016. Dr Hans-Gert Mayrose has informed the Supervisory Board that, due to his personal plans for the future, he will not be available for an extension of his term on the Executive Board, which is set to end on 31 December 2016.

Since the beginning of the year, Dr Bernhard has been a member of GESCO's Executive Board, whose three members had to date held equal rights without a chairman or a spokesman. The Executive Board members' responsibilities will remain unchanged until the end of the year: Dr Bernhard is responsible for the strategic management of the Group's portfolio of companies, Dr Mayrose for M&A, IT and Investor Relations, and Mr. Spartmann for Finance, Legal, HR and Compliance. The Supervisory Board will reallocate the responsibilities of the Executive Board members for the time following Dr Mayrose's departure.

"By appointing Dr Bernhard Chief Executive Officer, the Supervisory Board is pursuing the goal of strengthening the comprehensive approach of managing the strategic and operational development of the portfolio of companies," said Klaus Möllerfriedrich, Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

Dr Eric Bernhard joined GESCO's Executive Board in January 2016. Having served McKinsey & Company for many years, he subsequently took leadership roles on international executive and supervisory boards and as a CEO in the metal and plastics processing industry. These included the establishment of stock-listed Interseroh SE's raw materials division as well as the integration of the industrial SULO group into the stock-listed Plastic Omnium corporation.

Dr Bernhard said: "I see my primary task as CEO of GESCO AG to further improve jointly with the Executive Board and the management team the market position and competitiveness of the GESCO Group in times of rapid technological and market change, and thus to enable our group companies for sustainable profitable growth."

Mr. Möllerfriedrich thanked Dr Mayrose on behalf of the Supervisory Board: "Dr Mayrose has been serving GESCO AG since 1 February 2000, first as chief representative, and since 1 January 2002 as a member of the Executive Board. The Supervisory Board regrets that Dr Mayrose is not available for an additional term and would like to thank him very much for his many successful years of work on behalf of GESCO Group."

About GESCO
GESCO Group is an association of industrial SMEs, including market and technology leaders, with a focus on manufacturing/mechanical engineering and plastics technology. As a stock-listed company, GESCO AG offers private and institutional investors access to a portfolio of leading German industrial SMEs.

Investor Relations ( Oliver Vollbrecht
Phone: +49 202 24820-18 ( Fax: +49 202 24820-49
E-mail: info@gesco.de ( Internet: www.gesco.de

Downloads
Photograph of Dr Eric Bernhard
http://www.gesco.de/fileadmin/templates/img/about-us/dr_eric_bernhard_gesco_vorstand.jpg-
Vita of Dr Eric Bernhard
http://www.gesco.de/en/about-us/management/