KaDeWe Group expands its top management

Following the departure of CEO André Maeder, who left to join Selfridges, the KaDeWe Group is strengthening its top management. Chief Retail Officer Timo Weber and Chief Merchandising Officer Simone Heift became members of the board on November 1, joining a newly formed trio, which going forward will be in charge of management.

“I am very pleased to welcome Simone Heift and Timo Weber, two experienced and successful retail and brand professionals from our own company, to the management team,” says the new CEO Michael Peterseim. He added that both had played a key role in shaping the successful development of the KaDeWe Group and the transformation of the luxury department stores from the very beginning.

“We are ideally positioned for the future with an outstanding team and are continuing on our strategic path. With ‘Unique Luxury Moments’, we are focusing on the creation and design of personal luxury moments with our guests, customers and employees at the centre of everything we do,” says Peterseim.

Simone Heift has been a member of the KaDeWe Group’s executive board since 2014, holding the role of buying director. Previously, she was fashion director at Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH and head of buying for Quartier 206. Heift studied at UCLA Extension in California and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA).

Timo Weber was general manager of the KaDeWe in Berlin since 2018 and of the Alsterhaus in Hamburg for four years. The 39-year-old business graduate has been director of retail at the group since the beginning of 2023. In the newly created role of chief retail officer of the KaDeWe Group, Timo Weber is responsible for store development, store operations and operations and facility management.

As general manager of KaDeWe, Alexandra Bagehorn, who previously managed the Alsterhaus in Hamburg from 2019 to 2022, will take over the store management of the Berlin department store from December 1, 2023.

In addition to the trio of board members, KaDeWe Group management also includes Janina Schüßler as director of marketing and communications; Julia Lehmann as director of merchandise management; Lars Globisch as director of IT and process management and Karin Bergmann as director people.