New CEO of the Rodenstock Group: Marcus Desimoni to succeed Anders Hedegaard

Munich, 18th January 2023 – The Rodenstock Group, a global leader in eye health innovation and manufacturer of biometric lenses, has appointed Marcus Desimoni as Chief Executive Officer after the current CEO, Anders Hedegaard, announced he will step down at the end of January 2023. From 1st February onwards, Marcus Desimoni, currently CFO, will take on the role as CEO of the Rodenstock Group.

Mr. Hedegaard will continue as a non-executive member of the Advisory Board and will continue to support the company as a part-time consultant. A new CFO is slated to join during the first quarter of 2023.

The appointment of Marcus Desimoni as CEO maintains continuity in the leadership team and with the strategic direction of the company. Marcus Desimoni has been CFO of Rodenstock since 2020 and has played an essential role in Rodenstock’s transformation. He played a pivotal role in the sale of Rodenstock’s eyewear business to De Rigo in December 2022 and the acquisition of Indo Optical in May 2022.

Under Marcus Desimoni´s leadership, Rodenstock will continue to invest in R&D as well as its product and service portfolio to best meet its customer’s needs and further expand its leadership position in biometric lenses.

Under the leadership of Anders Hedegaard, Rodenstock successfully accelerated its growth and transformation to a leading Med-Tech company in vision care. During his four-year term as CEO of Rodenstock, Mr Hedegaard successfully led the introduction of key innovations such as B.I.G. Vision™ FOR ALL and the launch of Rodenstock B.I.G. NORM™ technology, further expanding Rodenstock’s capabilities to develop market leading technologies and setting new benchmarks for the industry.

Steven Dyson, Partner of Apax said: “We thank Anders Hedegaard for his extraordinary work over the past four years. During his tenure, he has significantly shaped Rodenstock’s leading position in the Med-Tech industry and strengthened its global footprint. We have full trust in Marcus Desimoni to continue the success of the company going forward.”

Marcus Desimoni, CFO of Rodenstock, added: “I look forward to my new role as CEO of the Rodenstock Group and would like to thank Anders Hedegaard for our trusted working relationship in the management team. We will continue to have a clear focus on our lens business and continue to execute on our growth and innovation strategy.”

Anders Hedegaard, CEO of Rodenstock concludes: “It has been a great pleasure to work for Rodenstock and to transform it to the Med-Tech company it is, today. Rodenstock has a very clear strategy for the years to come and I am happy that I will be able to continue supporting the company.”

About Rodenstock:
The Rodenstock Group is a worldwide leading manufacturer of high-quality ophthalmic lenses. With the philosophy "B.I.G. VISION™ FOR ALL” the lens manufacturer stands for a paradigm shift in individual progressive lenses. The company, which was founded in 1877 with its headquarters in Munich, Germany, employs around 5,100 people worldwide and is represented with sales offices and distribution partners in more than 85 countries. Rodenstock maintains production plants at 16 locations in 15 countries. For more information, visit www.rodenstock.com/press.