Birkenstock Group announced on Tuesday the appointment of Ivica Krolo to the role of chief financial officer, effective February 1.

Krolo will succeed Dr. Erik Massmann, who will step down from his duties as of January 31. Massmann will continue to support the handover process to ensure a seamless transition.

Krolo joins Birkenstock from EMH Partners, a growth investment firm that invests in owner-managed technology companies, where he has served as partner and CFO since 2015. He was a member of the investment advisory committee and responsible for the areas of finance, tax, legal and corporate administration.

Prior to this, Krolo was a certified public auditor and manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and, before that, an Audit Manager and Tax Consultant at Mazars.

“We are excited to welcome Ivica to Birkenstock. He is an experienced finance executive with a deep understanding of the regulatory landscape in which we operate and with a significant operational and financial planning expertise. With his pragmatic hands-on and people-first approach, Ivica is a great fit for our global BIRKENSTOCK family. I am looking forward to working with him and to further shaping the global finance function as a backbone for sustainable and profitable growth, and to writing the next chapter of our success story”.

Oliver Reichert then continues: “On behalf of the board and our leadership team, I would like to thank Erik for his achievements and his willingness to support the handover. In a moment when the role of the CFO was mission-critical when preparing for our IPO, Erik and his team made a valuable contribution to strengthening capital market readiness and communicating our financial performance to the investment community. I wish him all the best for his professional and personal future”.
 
The footwear brand said it Massmann will jointly work with Krolo to present the first fiscal quarter 2025 financial results during the conference call scheduled for February 20. It also added that no changes in its goals or objectives are planned, reiterating the guidance for the full year already announced on December 18, ​of annual revenue growth between 15% and 17%.

In its most recent trading update last month, the German sandal maker beat market expectations for fourth-quarter revenue, helped by robust full-price sales in the United States and Asia.