Oliver Hermes
The shaper of the future
In 2018, Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer appointed Oliver Hermes, President & Global CEO of the Wilo Group, as his entrepreneurial successor.
Oliver Hermes has been a member of the Executive Board and President & Global CEO of the Wilo Group since 2006. Since 2019, he has also been the entrepreneurial successor to Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer and, in this capacity, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Wilo-Foundation. For years, Oliver Hermes has consistently driven the transformation of the Wilo Group.
The group’s strategic realignment accelerated the company’s internationalisation: He strengthened the global presence of Wilo by entering markets in East, West and Central Africa as well as in Latin American countries. He also expanded the company’s regional footprint in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and by building new plants in Russia, India, China, South Korea, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. This allowed the group to grow into a billion-euro business in recent years.
As CEO, Hermes played a key role in modernising the brand identity and in the Wilo Group’s transformation from a ‘hidden champion’ to a ‘visible and connected champion’. He is also driving the transition of Wilo’s offering from components to systems, solutions and services.
As part of this process, a number of company acquisitions were made with a view to the strategic development of the Wilo Group. Hermes is responsible for initiatives relating to digital and AI transformation. He is committed to advancing Wilo’s solutions for water management applications that are designed to improve operational efficiency and can help address climate-related challenges.
In 2024, the Executive Board, chaired by Hermes, declared the group-wide sustainability strategy to be the overarching strategy. Since then, it has served as an overarching strategic framework for the company’s functional corporate strategies. In 2025, under the leadership of CEO Oliver Hermes, Wilo brought together elements of its sustainability and AI strategy into the group strategy "Pioneering WATER AI for You".
Oliver Hermes’ committee roles, honorary positions and awards:
Member of the Board of Trustees of the Afrika Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft (German–African Business Association) since 2025
Member of the Executive Board of the Subsahara Afrika Initiative der Deutschen Wirtschaft (Sub-Saharan Africa Initiative of German Business, SAFRI) since 2023
Honorary Consul for Kazakhstan in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2021
Vice Chair of the Nah- und Mittelost-Verein e.V. (German Near and Middle East Association, NUMOV), Berlin
Member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Family Businesses, Munich
Member of the Executive Board of pro Ruhrgebiet e.V., Essen
Member of the Administrative Board of RWTÜV e.V., Essen
Member of the Advisory Board of Initiativkreis Ruhr, Essen
Member of the University Council of the Technical University of Dortmund
Member of the Rotary Club, Dortmund
Member of the Executive Board of the German–African Business Association until 2025
Deputy Chair of the Petersburg Dialogue, Berlin, until June 2022
Chair of the Executive Board of Ost-Ausschuss der deutschen Wirtschaft e.V. (German Eastern Business Association), Berlin, until June 2022
Member of the Board of Trustees of Deutsch-Russisches Forum e.V. (German-Russian Forum), Berlin, until June 2022
Member of the Lions Club, Duisburg, until 2021
In 2014, he was awarded the honorary title “Citizen of the Ruhr Region.” In 2025, Oliver Hermes was awarded the French National Order of Merit by decree of Emmanuel Macron.
As of: October 2026
