Harald Gloy Emerges as Leading Candidate to Succeed Lufthansa Technik CEO Sören Stark
Why It MattersThe succession decision, alongside a wave of recent MRO and manufacturer leadership moves, will shape how the world's largest aircraft maintenance provider manages capacity expansion and margin pressure.
Lufthansa Technik has begun searching for a successor to CEO Sören Stark, who is expected to leave the role in early 2027 due to age. The name most frequently mentioned internally is Harald Gloy, 54, an engineer who has been with the company since 1999 and has served as Chief Operating Officer of Lufthansa Technik under Stark since 2022. Stark himself joined the Lufthansa Technik board in 2019 and has led the MRO division since 2022.
The Gloy candidacy would continue Lufthansa Technik's tradition of internal appointments to its top role, though new supervisory board chairman Johannes Teyssen has encouraged consideration of an external candidate as well.
The leadership search comes as Lufthansa Technik is in an accelerated growth phase. Revenue for the division rose 11 percent in the first half of 2026 to approximately €4.4 billion, while operating profit grew only moderately to €315 million, with Lufthansa citing margin pressure from the Middle East conflict, a weaker US dollar, inflation-driven cost increases, and US tariffs. The company is expanding capacity globally, with a second widebody maintenance facility under development in the Philippines, a new Boeing 737 MAX engine maintenance shop set to open next year in Calgary, Canada, an additional hangar on Malta expected in autumn 2026, and a facility for engine component and parts maintenance being built in Portugal. It is also growing its military customer business.
Several recent leadership departures have reshaped the European aviation industry: former Lufthansa Technik CEO Johannes Bussmann moved first to TÜV Süd and then to the top post at MTU; Lars Wagner moved from MTU to Airbus, where he has led the civil aircraft division since early 2026; and Lufthansa executive Dorothea von Boxberg, most recently CEO of Brussels Airlines, left the group on 31 August 2026 to join the BMW Group board.
