ZEISS will launch a new strategic business unit, ZEISS Photonics & Optics, effective 1 October 2024. This new unit will consolidate smaller, specialized units within the ZEISS Group that offer fascinating technologies for photonics and optics to customers worldwide. The seven businesses will operate as independent units, benefiting from an environment that promotes their growth.
ZEISS will establish a new strategic business unit within the ZEISS Group starting in the next fiscal year 2024/25: ZEISS Photonics & Optics will include existing businesses outside of the ZEISS segments, which have growth potential and are suitable for ZEISS ownership.
The units of the Consumer Products strategic business unit from the Consumer Markets segment will move to ZEISS Photonics & Optics, including Cinematography, Mobile Imaging, Photo, and the optics business for hunting and nature observation. Additionally, Microoptics, Spectroscopy, Planetariums, and Simulation Projection Solutions from the Shared Production Unit of the ZEISS Group will go into the new strategic business unit. With a combined annual revenue of approximately 200 million EUR and nearly 900 employees, ZEISS Photonics & Optics will have locations in Germany, Hungary, the UK, the US, India, and China.
Focus on growth and the ZEISS Brand
The units have in common their business focus on customers in specific markets and their partially extraordinary contribution to the appeal of the ZEISS Brand. ZEISS Photonics & Optics will focus on the growth of the independent units and, as a whole, will significantly contribute to further brand development. For example, more than 20 million people visit a ZEISS planetarium annually, over 15 million use ZEISS optics for mobile photography, and films produced with ZEISS lenses fascinate audiences worldwide in theaters and on streaming platforms. Micro-optical high-performance innovations like multifunctional glass from Jena, presented at the CES in Las Vegas in 2024, will have broad applications in the automotive and smart home industries.
“The establishment of ZEISS Photonics & Optics provides the appropriate environment for these smaller, specialized units with management, culture, and business supporting functions tailored to their needs,” stated Stefan Müller, CFO of the ZEISS Group and responsible for the new unit on the ZEISS Executive Board. “The goal of this new strategic business unit is to make the individual businesses thrive economically and to support the further development of the ZEISS Brand.”
André Kutz, currently Head of Strategic Corporate Development of the ZEISS Group, and Dr. Bernhard Ohnesorge, member of the Management Board of the Shared Production Unit of the ZEISS Group, will take over the leadership of ZEISS Photonics & Optics from the next fiscal year 2024/25. Both have international experience in strategic development and in building and growing new and smaller businesses with a strong focus on technology and innovation.
The restructuring of Photonics & Optics will not result in any changes for ZEISS customers regarding products, services, or contacts.
