Change in Management

On 1st May, Andreas Falke took over as Managing Director of the FBDi Association. He replaces Wolfram Ziehfuss, who has retired. For Andreas Falke, the new role marks a return to his roots. He held various roles in the trading industry for more than 21 years – 15 years of which was spent in sales and marketing at Arrow and 2.5 years as head of procurement in the electronics industry.

“The position as Managing Director of the FBDi, is an excellent platform for me to pass on my extensive knowledge of processes, opportunities and risks, and support the distribution sector in this time of transition,” says Falke. “These days, there is a question mark regarding the value proposition of distribution. It is therefore important to further develop the strengths of distributors and to demonstrate this added value.”  

In addition to the central theme of ‘the transition of trading’ and the associated recognition of distribution and the status of the trade association, Falke wants to raise the profile of the FBDi outside Germany, given that many topics are relevant across multiple regions. To this end, Falke plans to work closely with the FBDi Board of Directors to expand the existing collaborations and communication with international associations. In this way, the association aims to ensure that members’ interests are also taken into account at European level, while at the same time boosting the weight and influence of the shared interests.

Other items on the agenda include adopting public positions and drafting opinions about various topics and emerging trends, finding ways to make the work groups more efficient and continuing the current updates to the guidelines for action such as the FBDi Environmental and Compliance Compass, which pools expertise about EU Directives and how to deal with them. 

The retiring Managing Director, Wolfram Ziehfuss, was a major force behind the founding of the association in 2003 and managed the business with great success since then in cooperation with the Board of Directors. He made an important contribution to the establishment of the work groups, which were responsible for a range of guidelines and the FBDi Environmental and Compliance Compass. Ziehfuss was also instrumental in the development of the association’s statistics and its reputation among official bodies. The FBDi is today an established player in the German association community. FBDi members account for more than 70 percent of revenues generated from the distribution of electronic components.