Frank Benz to head Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg from April

Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg GmbH will have a new management team as of April. Frank Benz from Calw will then take over the management of the regional energy supplier in the district - replacing the temporary management held until then by the two long-time EWF authorised signatories Inken Barth and Stefan Kieweg. The supervisory board of the company decided on this new appointment in December after a corresponding application process.

The native of Baden-Württemberg, who has many years of experience in the fields of energy and business administration, is thus making the move from Frankfurt, where he was most recently responsible as a division manager in business customer sales for Mainova AG, one of the largest regional energy suppliers in Germany. At the same time, he was also the managing director of Energy Air GmbH. Before that, the graduate in business administration had already worked for the energy suppliers EnBW, RWE and Süwag, among others. The 53-year-old can thus look back on more than 20 years of professional experience in the energy sector.

"We are pleased to have found in Frank Benz a very experienced and technically skilled managing director for our regional energy supplier," says District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst, who is also Chairman of the EWF Supervisory Board, on the occasion of the official presentation of the new management. "For the company, in which the district is the majority shareholder, this is a gain, especially in times of the current energy crisis." Securing the supply security of the people and companies in Waldeck-Frankenberg in the long term is a particularly high priority in view of the dynamic situation on the global energy market, he said.

At the same time, Jürgen van der Horst also thanked Inken Barth and Stefan Kieweg. They had taken over the temporary management of the company for a few months in September 2022 after the former Managing Director Stefan Schaller left the company at short notice. "I would like to thank Ms Barth and Mr Kieweg for their dedicated and good work for the company. They have kept the company on track during the transition period." Both will return to their traditional areas of responsibility in the company from April - Inken Barth as Head of Finance and Stefan Kieweg as Head of Sales. They will also continue to support the new managing director as authorised signatories.

Frank Benz has a lot planned for his new position. "We guarantee security of supply for our customers - and in doing so, we focus on a sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply under socially acceptable aspects. All in all: energy for the people - cheap, secure supply and sustainable," says Benz. "We can achieve this by expanding renewable energies, strengthening the supply networks and developing suitable customer solutions together with our partners from the region."

As the future EWF Managing Director, he wants to make the team even better through a good leadership culture: "Appreciation, down-to-earthness, courage and trust are at the heart of this. EWF should continue to be one of the top employers in times of change in energy and climate change." He has known the Waldeck-Frankenberg district - like many others - up to now as a popular holiday region that offers a lot. "I would like to thank the supervisory board for the trust they have placed in me and I look forward to getting to know the people, the surroundings and the companies in North Hesse better.