CHANGE AT THE TOP IN TOP TIMES: NEW CFO FOR CANYON BICYCLES FROM JULY

KOBLENZ, 27 MAY 2021 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – German bike manufacturer and pro team supplier Canyon Bicycles is one of the world's leading cycling brands. Since its foundation as Radsport Arnold in 1985, the company has achieved an unparalleled track record of consistent success. Most recently, the direct-sales brand closed out the past fiscal year with a record revenue of around 416 million Euros, representing a huge year-on-year growth of more than 30%. And looking forward into the future, Canyon’s course is firmly set towards a future of sustainable, consistent growth.

In these times of peak performance, Canyon are excited to announce a change at the top level of company management: As of 1 July 2021, Winfried ’Winni‘ Rapp will take over the position of Chief Financial Officer / CFO of Canyon. At the same time, Lothar Arnold, the current CFO, will retire as planned at the age of 65 and leave the company at the beginning of July. Lothar Arnold joined the company's management board in 2015. In the past six years, he has helped steer Canyon through numerous important milestones: the launch of the Canyon.Factory in Koblenz-Rübenach, the entry into the US market, the release of Canyon’s first e-bikes, and the go-live of the company’s new website. Lothar Arnold was instrumental in and responsible for driving and managing Canyon’s two successful investment partnerships since 2016. Firstly, with TSG Consumer Partners LLC, who helped support Canyon’s incredible growth from 2016-2021, and since the beginning of 2021, with current investors, Belgian company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL).

Lothar Arnold states: "The successful development of Canyon in recent years is, and remains, a unique achievement. I am incredibly happy and proud to have been there during this exciting time, and to have helped shape it together with the great team at Canyon. I am equally excited now about entering my retirement, and I’m looking forward to starting a new phase of my life, with plenty of equally exciting and relaxing private time to enjoy moving forward. I am convinced that Winni, as the new CFO, together with the management team, will lead the company into a new successful chapter. There couldn’t have been a better time to make this change."

Winfried Rapp joins Canyon with a wealth of experience, huge energy, and big-time enthusiasm for the brand

Winfried Rapp most recently worked for the Cologne-based cable network operator Unitymedia. Starting there in 2013 as CFO, Rapp successfully developed the organisation’s finance function to a high level of maturity and reliability, playing a key role in the profitable growth achieved by the company. From 2018, Rapp was appointed to the position of CEO and helped guide the merger of Unitymedia and Vodafone until 2020. Prior to this, the passionate cyclist had held various national and international finance roles over a period of ten years at software corporation SAP. Before that, Rapp, who was born in Ulm, Germany, worked for Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile UK. After holding positions in London, Paris and most recently Cologne, he will now be working in Koblenz, where, as of 1 June, he will officially join Canyon’s management board. On 1 July, he will take over the position of CFO – and he’s already looking forward to the new challenges the role will bring.

"I have been following the Canyon Bicycles success story for many years. I honestly can't say what fascinates me more about Canyon: the outstanding products and incredible brand, or the unique, sustainable way the company is growing. As the future CFO of Canyon and a cycling enthusiast, I feel an equally strong passion for the bikes and the sport, as well as for the business and its expansion. I am really looking forward to my new role, getting to know my new colleagues, and experiencing the passion of a brand like Canyon," explains Rapp.

Landgraf and Rapp will jointly focus on service, digitisation, and sustainability For many years, the Canyon brand has stood for innovation, design, sporting success, and global expansion. And these strengths are being honed constantly. Through strategic development and the strengthening of internal structures, the company has always been excellently positioned to react to developments in the dynamic, constantly changing landscape of the bike industry. In the future, in addition to the creation of new products, the expansion of the e-bike and urban portfolio, and the development of cutting-edge designs and technologies, Canyon will also be aiming on expanding their range of service offerings, and focusing on ramping up digitisation, and sustainability. With the new duo of Armin Landgraf and Winfried Rapp at the helm, Canyon will continue rolling out their ambitious strategy over the coming years.

Canyon CEO Armin Landgraf is pleased with the developments on company and management level: "I would like to thank Lothar from the bottom of my heart for the great collaboration we enjoyed on the management board over recent years. Under a management team also featuring Roman Arnold – founder of Canyon and now Chairman of the Advisory Board – Canyon has become one of the world's most successful and popular bicycle brands, as well as a major digital player. I am very much looking forward to building on this successful platform together with Winni. His extensive experience, engaging personality, and huge passion for biking and the Canyon brand made an impression on us right from the start. Together with the advisory board and the entire Canyon Crew, we will continue to take advantage of numerous growth opportunities open to us and write the next chapter of Canyon's success story."

Canyon already made an important strategic management change in October 2020, with former COO Armin Landgraf moving into the role of CEO, a post he has now held for 8 months. Roman Arnold, founder of Canyon and CEO of the company until October 2020, moved to the newly founded Advisory Board as part of this restructuring process, and has since continued to shape the story and strategic development of Canyon in his role of Chairman of the Advisory Board.

Photos