Andreas Widl (53) graduated in Physics with a diploma from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. He started his career as Innovation Manager at Mannesmann Pilotentwicklung, the think tank of the former Mannesmann Corporation. Major results related to this 7-year engagement were the development of the first GPS-based road pricing system, 30 patents and a Ph.D. in Physics. In 1999, he joined GE Capital as Business Development and Sales Director in the Reinsurance, M&A and Consumer Finance sector. In 2004, he continued his career as Executive VP of the Swiss Oerlikon Corporation to globally restructure its cash-burning Display Division and turn it into a profitable Thin-Film Solar business within 16 months. In December 2005, he was appointed Oerlikon Asia President and Managing Director of Oerlikon Shanghai, driving the group’s competitiveness in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, SEA and India. In August 2007, he became CTO in addition to his Asia responsibilities, coordinating Oerlikon’s global R&D activities. In October 2008, he was appointed CEO of Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum, Cologne, leading the company to record profitability within 3 years. In June 2013, Andreas Widl became Member of the Executive Board of Samson AG, Frankfurt, responsible for Sales, Marketing and Strategy. He was appointed CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board in April, 2015. Andreas Widl is married and has two children aged 20 and 18.

SAMSON, a market leader in control valves for industrial processes, has been successful in instrumentation and controls for over 100 years. Numerous inventions and innovative solutions guarantee SAMSON’s constant growth and on-going success. Outstanding inventions include the metal bellows as a reliable dynamic seal and integral positioner attachment for increased reliability and safety. SAMSON manufactures control valves, butterfly valves, and modular automation units for use in all areas of process engineering as well as self-operated regulators for simple control systems with a constant reference variable. Sophisticated transmitters, controllers, and automated systems are also part of the SAMSON product range. Solutions from the SAM DIGITAL product line have been added for smart networking of components and systems in process automation to take on the challenges posed by the growing digitization. Together with the SAMSON subsidiaries AIR TORQUE, CERA SYSTEM, KT-ELEKTRONIK, LEUSCH, PFEIFFER, PRECOGNIZE, RINGO, SED, STARLINE, UBIX, VDH PRODUCTS, and VETEC, SAMSON offers a product portfolio to meet all industrial process requirements.