Lufthansa Technik Names Harald Gloy as Next CEO, Succeeding Soeren Stark
Why It MattersLeadership transitions at major MRO providers signal continuity of strategy, as incoming executives promoted from within tend to carry forward existing growth targets rather than redirect them.
What happened
Lufthansa Technik announced on Friday, September 4, that Harald Gloy will become its next CEO, succeeding Soeren Stark, who will retire at the beginning of February. Gloy, currently chief operating officer of the Hamburg-based MRO provider, will serve a five-year term as CEO, and Lufthansa Technik said it will soon name a successor for the COO role.
Gloy first joined Lufthansa Technik more than 25 years ago and has held positions across logistics, corporate strategy, aircraft and engine overhaul, and component services. In 2019 he became COO of Lufthansa Cargo, later adding responsibility for human resources and labor relations in 2021. He returned to Lufthansa Technik in 2022, serving as COO and accountable manager overseeing operations and IT.
Lufthansa Technik supervisory board chair Grazia Vittadini said Gloy "combines deep knowledge of Lufthansa Technik with broad leadership experience across the Lufthansa Group" and has played an important role in the company's recent performance. Stark, who joined the Lufthansa Group in 2001 and has led Lufthansa Technik's executive board since 2022, will remain in charge for the next five months until Gloy takes over. During his tenure, Lufthansa Technik pursued its "Ambition 2030" growth strategy, targeting annual revenues exceeding €10 billion ($10.9 billion) by 2030 with a focus on engine and component MRO services. In the first half of 2026, the company posted revenues of €4.4 billion and adjusted EBIT of €315 million.
Industry impact & what to watch
A CEO transition built around an internal promotion, with a five-month handover window and a named successor process already underway for the vacated COO seat, points to continuity rather than a strategic reset. Gloy's 25-plus years across logistics, overhaul and component services, plus his recent COO tenure overseeing operations and IT, gives the supervisory board a candidate whose background already maps onto the "Ambition 2030" targets Stark set in motion.
In large MRO organizations, leadership changes of this kind tend to matter less for what they change than for what they preserve: order books, supplier relationships and multi-year overhaul contracts run on timelines longer than any one executive's tenure, so boards weight continuity heavily when the incumbent strategy is already producing results, as reflected in the €4.4 billion first-half 2026 revenue and €315 million adjusted EBIT figures.
The next marker to watch is the announcement of Gloy's COO successor, which will show whether Lufthansa Technik keeps promoting from within its existing bench or looks outside the company as it pushes toward its €10 billion 2030 revenue target.
