Der ehemalige Vorsitzende des Internationalen Controller Vereins (ICV) engagiert sich seit weit über 30 Jahren ehrenamtlich im ICV. Große Verdienste hat er sich bei der Professionalisierung, Internationalisierung des Vereins und der Entwicklung der ICV-Fachkreise erworben.

Der gebürtige Stuttgarter hatte mehrere Jahre den regionalen ICV-Arbeitskreis „Südwest“ im Raum Stuttgart/Schwarzwald geleitet, bis er im Jahr 2000 Vorstandsmitglied des ICV und 2004 stellvertretender Vorstandsvorsitzender wurde. Gänßlen war von 2007 bis 2018 Vorsitzender des ICV-Vorstandes. Nach zwei Jahren als Vorstandsmitglied wechselte er 2020 ins ICV-Kuratorium. 

Seine berufliche Laufbahn begann 1974 in Frankfurt/Main als Assistant Manager bei Price Waterhouse im Bereich Audit und Mergers & Acquisitions. Danach war Gänßlen Controller und kfm. Leiter bei der Firma Cooper in Besigheim und später kfm. Leiter bei Karl Dungs in Urbach sowie Kaufmännischer Geschäftsführer bei Hydraulik Ring (Heller AG) in Nürtingen. Von 1994 bis 1999 war Gänßlen Geschäftsführer Controlling, Finanzen und Personal bei der Hansgrohe GmbH & Co.KG. Nach Umwandlung in eine AG war er ab 1999 Stellv. Vorstandsvorsitzender und CFO sowie zuständig für das strategische Geschäftsfeld Amerika, Mittlerer Osten, Afrika und Indien. Seit Mai 2008 war Siegfried Gänßlen Vorstandsvorsitzender der Hansgrohe AG, heute Hansgrohe SE, in Schiltach. 2014 hatte er planmäßig den Vorstandsvorsitz an seinen Nachfolger übergeben. Bis Mai 2015 beriet er danach als International Executive Advisor den CEO der Masco Corporation bei der strategischen Ausrichtung der Masco-Gruppe.

A.D. 2012: South-West Germany; The Black Forest; The City of Schiltach;

Location: Headquarters of Hansgrohe AG

Main Character: Chairman of the ICV Board Siegfried is a down-to-earth man at the helm of a globally active company, enjoying full respect of his people. Siegfried is loath to wear ties and loves Baden-Swabian cuisine. You can bump into him on the whole surface of the globe.

A record worth of €1.6 billion in bonuses

The bathroom and sanitation manufacturer Hansgrohe AG had recorded in 2010 a turnover of €693 million and awarded its employees in the last year with a record worth of €1.6 million in bonuses. Hansgrohe CEO Siegfried Gänßlen praised on that occasion his colleagues in a way typical for him - without stint: "Without the commitment and willingness of our employees, it would not have been possi-ble. So it is only natural for us that our employees should have a fair share in the success of their company and we want you to treat these bonuses as a sign of our gratitude for your work."

"Always handle all tasks with due care"

Siegfried Gänßlen was born in 1946 in Stuttgart. "Always handle all tasks with due care" is what his mother used to say to her little plucky lad and Siegfried has been living ac-cording to this motto since then. Add to that his high punctu-ality standards and you will get Siegfried's blueprint for suc-cess.

The company legend has it that his school peers used to say about him that "this bloke wants to breach a brick wall with his head"; Siegfried Gänßlen as a CEO has lost not an ounce of his determination and consequence. Gänßlen him-self once said that he had been ambitious at school, but what drove his ambition even higher was soccer. Soccer was and still remains his great passion. He managed it once to the 3. German league and afterwards was active as a referee - many experiences gained in that period came in handy later in his working life: "Quickly and precisely recog-nizing and assessing a situation is what has helped me in my later work", he once said in an interview for the business newspaper "Handelsblatt".

“A good ref doesn't need to make use of his penalty cards all too often”

Soccer jargon offers accurate expressions for describing Gänßlen's ways of doing things. So as he was asked in a magazine interview about his growth strategy for Germany and Europe he used the following metaphor: "You must win all matches on your home turf if you want to get to the top of the table." A journalist fellow wrote recently in a newspaper

portrait that ICV Chairman’s "rule of the game" is to manage a company basing on ratios: "And everybody accepts it. In any case, he can always blow his whistle, and indeed loudly. And a good ref doesn't need to make use of his pen-alty cards all too often."

“He has got enough stamina to set high growth targets for the ICV”

It's a real pleasure to be able to accompany Siegfried Gänßlen at his work as the Chairman of the ICV Board. Af-ter a few moments in his presence you can see that he lives and breaths the ICV. He has been privately investing great amounts of his energy into his non-commercial, and indeed successful activities at the ICV - more often than not devot-ing his already limited free time. Since May 2007 Siegfried Gänßlen has been the Chairman of the ICV Board of Direc-tors. He has been engaging himself voluntarily in the asso-ciation for over 30 years. He was leading the regional ICV work group "Südwest" for the area of Stuttgart/Blackwood, until he became in the year 2000 a member of the ICV Board and then in 2004 its deputy Chairman. Both in his company and in the ICV Board Gänßlen comes across as a down-to-earth and consequent person. He places also here much trust in his board colleagues and active members. At the same time he has got enough stamina to set high growth targets for the ICV. It does not come as a surprise that one of his main focal points is the professional interna-tionalization of the ICV, especially when you consider the fact that he is all the time on the move around the globe fulfilling his duties as the Chairman of Hansgrohe AG. Trav-eling is, by the way, his best pastime activity: to experience different cultures in far-away regions. A down-to-earth man of the world.