Waiblingen, 10.09.2025 | Press Release
Hans Peter Stihl receives the German Founders Award for his lifetime achievement
Hans Peter Stihl, long-serving former Chairman of the Executive Board and current Honorary Chairman of the Advisory Board and Supervisory Board of ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG, has received the German Founders Award in Berlin in recognition of his lifetime achievement.
In awarding this honor the panel acknowledged his extraordinary entrepreneurial achievements as well as decades of societal and voluntary commitment. “I am proud to accept this award on behalf of my father. It is a great sign of recognition for everything he has created and passed on to future generations,” said Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Chairman of the Advisory Board and Supervisory Board, at the award ceremony on Tuesday evening in Berlin. He received the award for Hans Peter Stihl from Prof. Dr. Ulrich Reuter, President of the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV). The German Founders Award is jointly sponsored by Sparkasse finance group, ZDF, Porsche, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Entrepreneurial impact
In 1960 Hans Peter Stihl joined the company founded by his father Andreas Stihl, going on to lead it as managing partner from 1973 to 2002. Under his leadership STIHL evolved from a medium-sized chainsaw manufacturer to an internationally leading provider of forestry, agriculture and garden technology. Together with his sister Eva Mayr-Stihl he pursued consistent internationalization and expansion of the product portfolio, which led to the establishment of in-house production and sales companies worldwide. Today STIHL has manufacturing facilities in seven countries across four continents and distributes its products via 44 of its own sales companies and 120 importers in more than 160 countries.
Hans Peter Stihl has also always shown a special dedication to his employees: profit-sharing, pension plan benefits and the issue of profit participation rights are among the changes introduced under his leadership. He exemplified a corporate culture which is characterized by solidarity and personal commitment, and that continues to have an impact at STIHL to this day.
After 36 years in management, in 2002 he withdrew from operational business along with the family shareholders, and a non-family Management Board was appointed. Then he headed the Advisory Board and Supervisory Board for ten more years, before handing over leadership to his son Dr. Nikolas Stihl in 2012. Today he remains a personally liable shareholder of STIHL Holding AG & Co. KG as well as Honorary Chairman of the STIHL Advisory Board and Supervisory Board. Even at the age of 93 he continues to follow family company's business development; as an engineer, he is always particularly interested in new product developments.
Societal and voluntary commitment
Beyond his position at STIHL, Hans Peter Stihl has spend decades playing an active role in important economic and social policy functions. From 1988 to 2001 he was President of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, with a key responsibility for representing the interests of the German economy at national and international level. Since leaving that position in 2001, Hans Peter Stihl has been Honorary President of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce in the Stuttgart Region Chamber of Industry and Commerce, of which he was President from 1989 to 2001. From 1973 to 1988, he sat on the Management Board of the Baden-Württemberg Metal Industry Association, serving as its Chairman for the last eight years of that period. In connection with that post, he was simultaneously also Vice President of the Overall Association of Employers' Associations in the Metal Industry. He additionally served on a number of other Supervisory Boards and Advisory Boards and was Honorary Consul-General for Singapore in Germany until 2019. He has received many national and international awards for his contribution, including the Great Cross of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2002.
About the German Founders Award
The German Founders Award is an accolade given to outstanding entrepreneurs in Germany, and counts itself as one of the country's most prestigious economic awards. It has been recognizing successful founders as well as their companies since 1997, with the purpose of highlighting and encouraging their achievements. The award is given annually in the categories of students, startups, rising stars and lifetime achievement.
