Jobst Wagner
# Jobst Wagner

Jobst Wagner (born 20 February 1959 in Rehau) is a Swiss entrepreneur.

## Life

After attending schools in Canada, Germany and Switzerland, he graduated in law (lic.jur.) from the University of Bern. Starting in 1986, he worked in different positions at Rehau Group, a company founded by his father Helmut Wagner in 1948 in Rehau, Germany. In 2000, Helmut Wagner transferred control of the company to his sons Jobst and Veit Wagner.

Jobst Wagner has three adult children.

## Business

As president of the supervisory board of the Rehau group, he leads a worldwide group of companies with approximately 18,000 employees in more than 50 countries. The independent, privately held company operates around the globe as a system manufacturer for the construction, automotive and industry sector. The REHAU Group has also a subsidiary, which produces appliances for the medical industry.

In December 2018, following the acquisition of MB Barter & Trading by REHAU, Jobst Wagner was confirmed as a member of the new board of directors.

In January 2021, after the death of his father, Helmut Wagner, the Rehau Group company founder, Jobst Wagner remembered his father as “a pioneer of modern industry” whose memory would be revered and whose innovative spirit and vision would continue to guide the way. On 1st July 2021, after 20 years, Jobst Wagner took over the role of vice president of the supervisory board, with his brother Veit Wagner taking over his position as president.

Jobst Wagner is also one of the largest shareholders of the SMH Verlag AG and is member of the Supervisory Board. He is the founder and the Research Council within the Foundation StrategieDialog21. The StrategieDialog21 (SD21) sees itself as a dialogue platform with a focus on federally-liberal values and derived strategic approaches and impulses for Switzerland.

## Art Patronage

At the company’s corporate headquarter in Rehau, Germany, Wagner is making art accessible to employees and the public with the Rehau Art gallery, which organizes various events and exhibitions. One such exhibition displays woodcarvings by the Swiss artist Franz Gertsch.

Wagner also supports a large number of cultural institutions in Switzerland. Amongst others, he is the president of the Kunsthalle Bern foundation, member of the foundation board for the Bern Kunstmuseum and GegenwART foundation, as well as advisory board member of the Bern University of the Arts. Together with the Hochfranken business initiative he also supports the International Film Festival Hof.

## Honors and awards

In 1999, Wagner received an award for his activities with GegenwART of the ‘Handels- und Industrieverein’ Bern.

He is also an honorary citizen of La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin, France.

In 2018 Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology Franz Josef Pschierer awarded REHAU group president Jobst Wagner the State Medal for special services to the Bavarian economy.

## Literature

* Executive Profile [ Jobst Wagner, Bloomberg Businessweek]
* Macher und Mäzen. In: WirtschaftsBlatt. 9. November 2006, pp. 6. (online, in German).
* Schweizer Standards - Aus bester Familie: 100 vorbildliche Schweizer Familienunternehmen, ISBN 978-3-03823-606-1. (in German and French)
* Vom Sammeln, with text contributions from Norberto Gramaccini, Michael Krethlow, Reto Sorg and Jobst Wagner, Publisher: Jobst Wagner, ISBN 978-3-9523742-2-1.
