Our Executive Board

CEO

Matthias Taft was born in Munich in 1967. From 1988 to 1993, he studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Munich. In addition, he studied industrial engineering at the University of Hagen from 1997 to 2001.
In 2003, Matthias took over the management of RENERCO Renewable Energy Concepts AG and since 2013 has been responsible for the management of BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH. In addition, Matthias was responsible for the Renewable and Conventional Energy divisions as a member of the Board of Management of BayWa AG from 2015 to 2021.
Since 2021, he has been CEO of BayWa r.e. AG.

COO

Daniel Gäfke is Global Director of Projects and a Member of the Management Board of BayWa r.e. AG since November 1st 2023.
Daniel has more than two decades of experience in the renewable energy industry. He is responsible for BayWa r.e.’s onshore Wind and Solar Projects businesses in EMEA and APAC. He also oversees its Energy Solutions business, which helps corporations in their energy transition.
Before joining BayWa r.e., Daniel founded and managed Annex Power and also co-founded and managed PETRO Umwelt- und Tanktechnik GmbH. Furthermore, he played a key role in building up Conergy Asia Pacific’s Indochina business, where he was involved in the region’s first major Solar, Wind and Bioenergy projects.
Daniel studied Business Administration at the University of Bielefeld, the University of Leicester, and KEDGE Business School. He holds a diploma in Business Administration, an MBA, and a Master of Science degree. Additionally, he holds a Euro-Asia Doctorate degree in Business Administration (DBA) under the joined program of KEDGE, Hong Kong Baptist and Ranepa Universities.

CFO

Elmar Geissinger joined BayWa r.e. as CFO in February 2025.
He is managing partner of Ziems & Partner, a management consulting firm that has been supporting companies with holistic restructuring concepts for more than 25 years.
As a corporate finance expert, Elmar has helped numerous companies to regain their stability and profitability, repositioning them for long-term growth. His restructuring mandates as CFO include Merkle Ratiopharm GmbH, Kathrein Group, ATU Group, Pfleiderer AG and OQ Chemicals GmbH.
During his career, his responsibilities included driving organisational change, developing turnaround plans, stakeholder communication as well as ensuring legal and compliance adherence.
Elmar holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Regensburg and a European Master of Business Science from the University of Birmingham.

CRO

Felix Colsman was born in 1971. He studied economics at the University of Bonn and business administration at the University of Cologne and the INSEAD Business School in France.
After holding management positions at the Boston Consulting Group, Minimax, Johnson Controls, and DAH Group, he joined BayWa r.e. in 2024 as Chief Restructuring Officer. Felix has a proven track record of restructuring and consolidating ailing companies, guiding them through their financial reorganisation and on to new achievements.
Felix lives in Hamburg together with his family.

CRO

Hans-Joachim Ziems joined BayWa r.e. as CRO in February 2025.
He studied at the University of Cologne from 1976 to 1980, graduating with a degree in Business Administration. He then started a successful business in consumer electronics.
In 1995, he sold his stake in the company and founded a consultancy firm, which became Ziems & Partner in 2004. As the principal shareholder of the partnership, he oversees the restructuring teams’ various engagements and personally takes on CRO or CEO roles in major mandates. Some of these include Kirch Media Group, ZIMBO, PIN Group AG, Merckle Ratiopharm Group, Pfleiderer AG, and many more.
Our Supervisory Board

Chairman of the Supervisory Board

Michael Baur has been a member of the Board of Management of BayWa AG since November 2024 and is responsible for the development and implementation of all restructuring measures.
Recently, Michael served as Chief Restructuring Officer and executive board member at the multi-billion global tier one automotive supplier BENTELER.
His industry expertise also covers energy, retail, consumer goods, industrial goods, telecom, and media.

Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board

Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath is a member of the Supervisory Board of Siemens Energy. An electrical engineer by training, she has more than 30 years of experience in the energy sector, industry, and management consulting.
Until the end of 2024, she served on the Executive Board of bp in London, where she was responsible for the company’s global Gas and Low Carbon Energy business. Prior to that, she was CEO of RWE Renewables, where she oversaw the integration of the renewable energy businesses of Innogy and E.ON into the RWE Group. Under her leadership, RWE Renewables became one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies and the second largest globally in offshore wind. Earlier in her career, Ms Dotzenrath held several executive and board-level positions within the E.ON Group and was a partner at leading international management consultancies worldwide.
Her areas of expertise include strategy, business development, restructuring, operational excellence, M&A, post-merger integration, and sustainability, with a particular focus on industrial decarbonisation.
She holds degrees in Electrical Engineering and Industrial Engineering from RWTH Aachen University.

Member of the Supervisory Board

Dr. Frank Hiller has been Chief Executive Officer of BayWa AG since March 2025.
Previously, he was CEO of Big Dutchman, the market leader in feeding systems and livestock housing systems. Prior to that, he was CEO of the listed company Deutz AG in Cologne for five years. Dr. Frank Hiller has held various other board positions at Leoni, MAN Truck & Bus, Meiller and Thyssen-Krupp and has successfully implemented a number of strategic transformation programmes in these.
He is responsible for Strategy, Communications/Investor Relations, HR, Corporate EH & S, General Counsel: Corporate Governance, Corporate Compliance, Legal, Audit and Sustainability/ESG.

Member of the Supervisory Board

Prof. Dr. Matthias J. Rapp has been CFO of BayWa AG since March 2025.
Prof. Dr. Matthias J. Rapp was responsible for Finance and Controlling at TÜV SÜD until 2024. He began his professional career at the management consultancy Boston Consulting Group. In 1997, he moved into industry and has since worked for several companies as Chief Financial Officer, including automotive supplier Webasto.
Prof. Dr. Matthias J. Rapp is also an honorary professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). As BayWa's Chief Financial Officer, he is responsible for Corporate Controlling, Corporate Finance, Corporate Accounting, Corporate Insurance, Corporate Real Estate Management, Corporate Risk, Business Services and IT.

Member of the Supervisory Board

David joined BayWa AG in June 2012 as Legal Counsel with focus on compliance. He is General Counsel of BayWa AG in addition to his role as Chief Compliance Officer of BayWa AG, which he has held since May 2013.
In this capacity, he oversees corporate sustainability, audit, legal and social compliance, legal operations, as well as export and sanctions compliance. Additionally, he played a key role in establishing an information security management system to enhance operational IT security.
Furthermore, David was responsible for Compliance of the BayWa r.e. Group before our own compliance system was implemented.

Member of the Supervisory Board

Rolf Nonnenmacher is a member of the Supervisory Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee at Continental AG. He chaired the German Corporate Governance Code Commission from 2017 to 2023 and served as member of the supervisory boards of Covestro AG and ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE.
Following his Doctorate from the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Rolf Nonnenmacher joined KPMG in 1981, became Partner in 1987 and served as German Senior Partner from 2005 and as Chairman of KPMG Europe from 2007 until 2013.

Member of the Supervisory Board

Bernd Mayer was a partner at the law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (Skadden) between 2004 and 2024. From 2013 to 2023, he headed the German Skadden offices in Munich and Frankfurt am Main. He brings extensive experience in corporate law, corporate governance and investigations.
After studying law and political science in Tübingen and Tokyo, he received his doctorate in law from the Eberhard Karls University in 1993 and was admitted to the bar in 1995.

Member of the Supervisory Board

Eduardo Sauer is Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets at Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP). He brings with him 15 years of experience in private equity, corporate finance, investment banking and business strategy.
Before joining EIP, he held senior roles at DC Advisory and M.M. Warburg & CO, where he focused on investment banking and restructuring.
Eduardo Sauer holds a Master’s degree from Maastricht University School of Business and Economics and studied at Trinity College Dublin.
Our Committees
- Audit and Investment Committee
- Remuneration and Nomination Committee
- Sustainability Committee
- Strategy Committee