Oliver Hermes
Shaping the future
In 2018, Dr.-Ing. h.c. Jochen Opländer appointed Oliver Hermes, President & Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Wilo Group, as his entrepreneurial successor.
Oliver Hermes has been a member of the Executive Board and President & Global CEO of the Wilo Group since 2006. Since 2018, he has also been the entrepreneurial successor to Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer and, in this role, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Wilo Foundation. For many years, Oliver Hermes has consistently driven the transformation of the Wilo Group.
As part of the Group’s strategic realignment, the company’s internationalization was accelerated. He strengthened Wilo’s international presence through market entry into East-West-Central Africa and countries in Latin America, by expanding regional presence in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and through the construction of new plants in Russia, India, China, Korea, Türkiye, the UAE, and the USA. As a result, the Group developed into a company with annual revenues in the billion-euro range in recent years.
Oliver Hermes is Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Here together with the Ambassador of Kazakhstan and the former Mayor of Dortmund.
As CEO, Oliver Hermes has played a key role in modernizing the brand identity and in further developing the Wilo Group from a “Hidden Champion” to a “Visible & Connected Champion”. He has also advanced the development of the company’s offering from components toward systems, solutions, and services.
In this context, acquisitions were made with a view to the strategic development of the Wilo Group. Oliver Hermes is responsible for measures relating to digital and AI-based transformation. He is committed to further developing Wilo’s solutions for water management applications with the aim of supporting more efficient operation and helping address climate-related challenges.
In 2024, under the chairmanship of Oliver Hermes, the Executive Board declared the Group-wide sustainability strategy to be the overarching strategy. Since then, it has served as the overarching strategic framework for the company’s functional strategies. In 2025, under the leadership of CEO Oliver Hermes, Wilo combined elements of its sustainability and AI strategy in the Group Strategy “Pioneering WATER AI for You”.
Committee memberships, honorary positions and awards of Oliver Hermes
25.08.2021: Ceremonial appointment of the new Honorary Consul and opening of the newly established Honorary Consul's Office at Wilopark, (from left to right): H.E.: Mr. Dauren Karipov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Oliver Hermes, Chairman & CEO of the Wilo Group and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Thomas Westphal, Mayor of the City of Dortmund
Since 2025: Member of the Board of Trustees of Afrika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft
Since 2023: Member of the Executive Board of the Subsaharan Africa Initiative of German Business (SAFRI)
Since 2021: Honorary Consul for Kazakhstan in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
Deputy Chairman of Nah- und Mittelost-Verein e.V., Berlin
Member of the Advisory Board of Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA (BVB), Dortmund
Member of the Board of Trustees of Stiftung Familienunternehmen, Munich
Member of the Executive Board of pro Ruhrgebiet e.V., Essen
Member of the Administrative Board of RWTÜV e.V., Essen
Member of the Advisory Board of Initiativkreis Ruhr, Essen
Member of the University Council of TU Dortmund University
Member of Rotary Club, Dortmund
Member of the Executive Board of Afrika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft until 2025
Deputy Chairman of the Petersburg Dialogue, Berlin until June 2022
Chairman of the Executive Board of Ost-Ausschuss der deutschen Wirtschaft e.V., Berlin until June 2022
Member of the Board of Trustees of Deutsch-Russisches Forum e.V., Berlin until June 2022
Member of Lions Club, Duisburg until 2021
In 2014, he was awarded the honorary title “Citizen of the Ruhr Region.” In 2025, Oliver Hermes was awarded the French National Order of Merit by decree of Emmanuel Macron.
As of: September 2026
