06.05.2021

Kiloutou CEO changes

French international rental group Kiloutou has parted with Stephan Kulawik, its chief executive of Kiloutou Deutschland, and Jordi Varela, its chief executive of Kiloutou Spain.

Kulawick's departure is said to have been by mutual agreement and took place on April 22nd according to employees and associates. His name has apparently also been removed from the official records of the German company, while Patrick Rybicki, vice president development and international, has stepped in to ‘hold the fort’. One assumes this is on an interim basis, however the company has not disclosed whether any internal or external search for a successor is underway.
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Stephan Kulawik

Kulawik joined the company in 2017 and has made a significant impact in building the business, which has been put together via a number of acquisitions over the past few years. It all began with the purchase of Hamburg based Starlift in 2016, followed by GL Verleih NRW in 2018. M+S Paderborn and Werner Middeke were added in 2019, with Wiesecker Werkzeugvermietung joining just over a year ago.

Before joining Kiloutou, Kulawik spent two years with Danish rental group BMS as director of sales, having begun his career with truck mounted aerial lift manufacturer Wumag/Palfinger Platforms, staying with the company for 25 years, the final three as managing director.

A similar change took place at Kiloutou’s Spanish subsidiary at the end of March, when Jordi Varela, the chief executive since 2015, left the business. Strategic differences were said to have played a part in the events that led to his departure. An official statement from Kiloutou on the subject is pending. In the meantime an executive from Kiloutou headquarters in France is managing the business on an interim basis.

Vertikal Comment

We do not know enough of the details at this stage to make any meaningful comment and Kiloutou is not commenting on the subject. What is it they say though, to lose one is misfortune, to lose two is...? We will of course update this news item when we learn more.