Klaus Endress was born on 9 December 1948 as the second of eight children for company founder Dr Georg H Endress and his wife Alice. After studying industrial engineering and working in the United States, he joined his father’s company in 1979. In 1995, Klaus Endress took over as CEO and shaped the Endress+Hauser Group’s development for almost two decades. In 2014, he moved to the Supervisory Board.
Shaping the structure and culture of the Group
To this day, much of the company bears the signature of Klaus Endress. His time as CEO saw the separation and focusing of sales and production, the introduction of uniform IT structures, the internationalization of the business and the establishment of global production based on the principle of ‘From the region, for the region’. The successful development of the Group is based on all of these factors.
Klaus Endress always paid great attention to the corporate culture. Responsibility and loyalty are core values. For him, value-based corporate management is the cornerstone of sustaining economic success. He also upholds these principles within the entrepreneurial family. Today, a family charter defines the relationship between the family and the company, introduces the younger generation to the business and strengthens the cohesion and unity of the 75-plus family members.
Involvement in many public functions
Klaus Endress was also actively involved in politics, education, culture and business. He was engaged in the liberal FDP party in his home municipality of Reinach for almost three decades. From 2005 to 2018, he represented the interests of the canton of Baselland on the University Council of the University of Basel. In 2019, the Faculty of Economics awarded him an honorary doctorate for his commitment; in the same year, he was recognized for supporting the development of the Basel region.
From 2008 to 2017, Klaus Endress chaired the WVIB, an industrial association of more than 1,000 small and medium-sized companies in southwestern Germany. On his retirement, the Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg, Germany, made the Swiss entrepreneur an honorary senator. He also received the German Federal Cross of Merit.
Still closely associated with the company
At the end of the year, Klaus Endress will no longer be actively involved in the company. In future, the family will be represented on the Supervisory Board by Sandra Genge and Steven Endress, two members of the third generation. Klaus Endress will remain closely associated with the company as a shareholder and chairman of the Family Council – and is looking forward to spending more time with his wife and two grown-up children.
