Elevators Napoli era ends at Schindler - Paolo Compagna takes over as CEO

There will be a change at the top at Schindler. Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO Silvio Napoli is not only giving up his dual role after three years at the latest, as promised, but is also leaving Schindler altogether in the spring.

Paolo Compagna has been appointed as his successor as CEO, as the elevator and escalator manufacturer announced on Thursday. This means that there is an internal succession solution for the operational head. Compagna has been a member of the Group Executive Board since 2015 and is currently still Chief Operating Officer.

Compagna will take over his role as CEO at the beginning of April 2025. Napoli intends to support him in his new role until the Annual General Meeting at the end of March.

Napoli's successor on the Executive Committee still open

After 30 years with the company, Napoli himself no longer intends to stand for re-election at the next Annual General Meeting and wants to pursue new plans. It remains to be seen who will replace him as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Napoli was elected to the Board of Directors in 2016. At that time, he handed over his role as CEO of Schindler, which he had assumed in 2014, to Thomas Oetterli, who, like Napoli, had joined Schindler in 1994.

However, a few years later, his role as CEO caught up with him again: Oetterli stepped down as CEO at the beginning of 2022 "by mutual agreement", as it was put at the time. After twelve years on the Group Executive Board, including six years as CEO, it was time to hand over operational management, Oetterli was quoted as saying at the time.

Napoli subsequently took over the management of Schindler in a dual role. When this step was communicated, it was already stated that this situation was designed for a maximum of two to three years.

Only around three weeks after Oetterli's departure as CEO, Schindler issued a profit warning for the first half of 2022. This was justified by the high inflation in material costs, logistics problems and interruptions in the supply chain.

Napoli brought new momentum

Napoli's intervention in the operational management came at a difficult time for Schindler. He brought the "Top Speed 23" initiative, which had already been introduced in 2021 due to "deficits in Schindler's competitiveness", to a close.

Schindler's profitability improved significantly again. The operating profit margin returned to the double-digit range in 2023, and the EBIT margin increased further to 11.4 percent in the first half of 2024 despite a slight decline in revenue.

In addition to Napoli's commitment over the past 30 years, the latest press release also acknowledges his achievements over the past three years in leading a "successful turnaround in a challenging environment".