Strategic Leadership Transition at KANSAI HELIOS
Vienna, 30th June, 2025: KANSAI HELIOS announces a change in leadership to further strengthen the Group’s strategic direction in the new phase of its development following the recent acquisitions in the area of consolidation, integration and growth. Bastian Krauss, a long-standing member of the KANSAI HELIOS Group in various positions, most recently as Executive Vice President and Executive Director, will assume the role of President and Executive Director of the KANSAI HELIOS Group effective as of 1st July 2025.
Over the past years, KANSAI HELIOS has achieved significant milestones that have strengthened its position in the global coatings industry and set the ground for further development. The company group, which is part of Kansai Paint since 2017, successfully completed important acquisitions, which culminated in the integration of the WEILBURGER Coatings Group last year. These strategic moves have expanded the group´s product portfolio, enhanced their technological capabilities, and extended their global footprint, particularly in the industrial coatings sector.
In alignment with their long-term strategic goals, including achieving top-class performance by 2030 and fostering collaboration within the Kansai Paint Group, KANSAI HELIOS is entering a new phase accelerating its focus on consolidation, integration and growth.
As part of this strategic focus, also the Group Management Board will be restructured. The current President and Executive Director, Dietmar Jost, and the current Executive Director, Yoshihiro Tanaka, will both assume global leadership roles within the Kansai Paint Group. They will lead the Kansai Paint Group’s strategic segments ACE (Agriculture, Construction, Earthmoving Machinery) and Railway – Dietmar Jost as Global Head of the segment and Yoshihiro Tanaka as Global Business Director.The current Executive Vice President and Executive Director Bastian Krauss, who has been part of the KANSAI HELIOS Group’s success story for many years, will take on the role of President and Executive Director of the KANSAI HELIOS Group. Mitsuru Masunaga, Executive Vice President and Executive Director, and Frank Gläser, Executive Director, will remain in their roles and complete the new leadership team.
Bastian Krauss, new President and Executive Director of the KANSAI HELIOS Group, affirms:
“This change in leadership underscores KANSAI HELIOS’ commitment to strengthening its operations and delivering sustainable value to its stakeholders to ensure strategic alignment and operational excellence going forward. The new phase we are now entering as a company group is aimed at optimizing our operating business, leveraging synergies from our acquisitions, strengthening our commitment to sustainability and innovation and at the same time further expanding our market positions.”