The Chairman of the Management Board (CEO) of Meyer Werft GmbH, Bernd Eikens, will leave the company on 30 June 2026 and retire. As announced at the end of 2025, André Walter will succeed him on 1 July 2026 and will lead the company together with Ralf Schmitz (Chief Restructuring Officer) and Jörg Heidelberg (Chief Operating Officer).
André Walter (59) joins MEYER WERFT from the European aerospace group Airbus, where he has served since 2022 as Chairman of the Management Board of Airbus Aerostructures GmbH and Airbus GmbH in Hamburg. The Oldenburg native began his Airbus career in 2006, holding various technical and leadership positions. Among other responsibilities, the engineer led the Airbus sites in Bremen and Hamburg.
Bernd Eikens joined the Management Board of MEYER WERFT in December 2023 and guided the group through its most severe financial crisis in 2024. Today, the company has achieved financial stabilization and is successfully progressing along its restructuring path, which is expected to continue until the end of 2028. During his tenure as CEO, the company successfully delivered several vessels, including the cruise ships ASUKA III and Disney Destiny, as well as river cruise ships for Viking through its subsidiary NEPTUN WERFT. In addition to these shipbuilding projects, Bernd Eikens also implemented important internal initiatives aimed at improving operational processes and cost efficiency.
Dr. Christian von Lenthe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MEYER WERFT:
“The Supervisory Board would like to thank Dr. Bernd Eikens for his outstanding work over the past three years. He took over the company during its most challenging crisis and stabilized it with calmness, clarity, and strong leadership. The fact that the group now enjoys such excellent prospects is due in no small part to his efforts. We wish him all the best for his well-earned retirement. At the same time, we warmly welcome Dr. André Walter aboard our company.”
André Walter:
“I am very much looking forward to working with the teams in Papenburg and at our subsidiary NEPTUN WERFT in Rostock. I can build on the achievements that have already been made since the start of the restructuring in 2024—whether in the order pipeline, internal processes, or the further development of the company culture.”
Bernd Eikens:
“These have been three challenging but ultimately successful years at MEYER WERFT. As a native of Papenburg, it has always been a matter close to my heart to help ensure that this important company—for the region and for Germany as an industrial location—successfully turns the corner. I am grateful that we have achieved this.”
Andreas Hensen, Group Works Council Chairman of MEYER WERFT:
“On behalf of the Works Council and the entire workforce of all companies represented, we would like to thank Mr. Eikens for the trusting and constructive cooperation and wish him all the best for his retirement. We are confident that, together with his successor André Walter, we will successfully overcome the challenges ahead for the benefit of our colleagues.”
Photo: André Walter
Photo: André Walter and Bernd Eikens
