Klaus Josef Lutz

Lutz started his career as a lawyer at a Munich law firm. In 1989, he moved to the technology industry to join Digital Kienzle, then Germany's second-largest software company.[8] The subsidiary of the U.S. Digital Equipment Corporation was in trouble. As managing director and labor director, Lutz oversaw the company's restructuring,[9] which included job cuts.[10][11] To mitigate the impact on the remaining employees, Lutz developed an employee company as an alternative to the traditional Auffanggesellschaft.[12][13]

Between 1996 and 2002, Lutz took on leading positions in various industries, such as managing director of the Burda printing plants and board member of i-center,[14] a wholesaler for electrical appliances that had previously belonged to Siemens.[15] As a member of the executive board of the mechanical engineering company Unaxis, he was also involved in a profound change in the company's traditional business.

Lutz gained greater notoriety through his appointment to the management of Süddeutscher Verlag (2002). For a time, he also managed the operations of Süddeutsche Zeitung (2003).[16] The entire group of companies had fallen into a crisis that threatened its existence due to declining advertising revenues.[17] Lutz put an end to the nationwide expansion course and developed a modernization program.[18] In doing so, he primarily pushed the development of new products, such as the "SZ Bibliothek" and the "SZ Editions."[19] The circulation of the daily newspaper itself stabilized.

Lutz was the lead negotiator in the sale of a majority stake in Süddeutscher Verlag, including Süddeutsche Zeitung, to Südwestdeutsche Medien Holding (SWMH).[20] After completed the transaction in 2007, the two parties parted ways.[21][22]

In 2008, Lutz succeeded Wolfgang Deml as chairman of BayWa's board of management.[23][5] He took over an economically sound company that had never made a loss since its founding and had announced record profits the year he took office.[24] However, the group's historically grown structure proved unsustainable, making it difficult to invest in new business areas.[25] In addition, BayWa repeatedly struggled with fluctuating commodity prices as part of its business model.[26][27]

Lutz pushed for both diversification and internationalization of BayWa,[28] but preserved the group's historical roots.[29] An example of changes during his tenure is creating a renewable energy business unit,[30] which bundled all solar and wind energy companies to respond to the shrinking heating oil market.[31][32][33] The acquisition of New Zealand fruit trader Turners & Growers gave BayWa a better position in the Asian market.[34][35] Dutch agricultural trader Cefetra was purchased to give it a strong presence in European markets as well.[36]

Lutz sold BayWa DIY and garden centers and also divested the group's car dealership.[37][38] He also restructured the group's real estate portfolio. This freed up funds for the development of digital technologies for agriculture, known as smart farming.[39][40] BayWa considers itself a pioneer in this field,[41] in part due to acquisitions such as PC-Agrar (now known as FarmFacts).[42]

During Lutz's tenure at BayWa, revenues increased from around €8.8 billion (2008) to €19.8 billion in 2021.[43][44] Renewable energy now accounts for the largest share of the group's profits.[45] Most recently, Lutz's contract was extended in 2020.[46] In 2022, BayWa announced his move to the supervisory board in 2023, planning to become chairman.[47]