中文Gallus Group, the Heidelberg subsidiary and one of the label industry’s best-known press builders, has announced a leadership transition that will see chief financial officer Michael Bsirske step up to interim CEO from November 1, 2026. The change keeps the company’s long-term strategy intact while shifting who carries day-to-day responsibility for a business that has spent recent years reinventing itself around digital and connected printing.
Current CEO Dario Urbinati will join the board of directors of Gallus Ferd. Rueesch AG on the same date, before becoming president of the board on January 1, 2027. Rather than a clean exit, the move is structured as a handover that keeps Urbinati close to the business he has led through a period of transformation. Gallus also appointed Uwe Boerner as head of global sales, effective October 1, 2026. Boerner retains responsibility for key accounts and succeeds Thomas Schweizer, who is leaving to pursue an opportunity outside the company.
The company said the changes are designed to maintain continuity in its strategy as it develops its connected printing technologies and digital ecosystem. Recent developments the firm points to include expanding its digital portfolio through the Gallus One and Gallus Five platforms, the Gallus Experience Center, and a growing presence in markets such as India. Those are not cosmetic additions; they represent a deliberate pivot toward automated, digitally enabled production that Gallus believes is where converter demand is heading.
Urbinati was reflective about the timing. “The transformation journey Gallus has undertaken over recent years has been incredibly successful, and I am extremely proud of what the entire team has achieved together,” he said. He explained that having guided the business through a successful period of transformation and growth, he felt it was the right time to step back from day-to-day operational responsibilities while continuing to support Gallus in long-term strategy, innovation and key customer relationships. It is a measured exit that preserves institutional knowledge at board level.
Bsirske brings leadership and financial experience from senior management positions within Gallus, Heidelberg and other technology, industrial and professional services businesses. “My priority will be to ensure that Gallus continues delivering success for our customers,” he said. “That means staying close to the market, listening carefully to what converters need, and working closely with our customers, partners and suppliers to deliver solutions that make a real difference to their businesses.” He added that as the labels market continues to evolve, converters increasingly require production environments that are more connected, flexible and efficient.
From the parent company, Dr David Schmedding, chief technology and sales officer at Heidelberg, welcomed the handover. “Dario and the Gallus leadership team have successfully guided Gallus through a period of transformation and growth, and we are very pleased that Dario will continue to support the business as part of the Board,” he said. Ferdinand Rueesch also welcomed Urbinati’s continued involvement and thanked Schweizer for his contribution.
The throughline of the announcement is stability. Gallus said its long-term strategy remains unchanged, with a continued focus on supporting converters moving toward more automated and digitally enabled production. In a market where press builders rise and fall on their ability to deliver that future, a clean, continuity-minded transition is itself a signal to customers and partners that the roadmap will not stall. For Gallus, the message is simple: new faces at the top, same direction – and India, digital and the connected ecosystem remain the priorities.
Source: Labels & Labeling – “Gallus announces leadership transition” (2 October 2026).
In a market where press buyers weigh a vendor’s stability as heavily as its spec sheet, a continuity-minded transition reassures Gallus customers that the digital and connected roadmap will not stall, and the retention of Urbinati at board level keeps hard-won transformation momentum inside the company rather than walking out the door.
In a market where press buyers weigh a vendor’s stability as heavily as its spec sheet, a continuity-minded transition reassures Gallus customers that the digital and connected roadmap will not stall. The retention of Urbinati at board level keeps hard-won transformation momentum inside the company rather than walking out the door, and the appointment of a sales leader who keeps key-account ownership signals that commercial relationships are protected through the change. For a subsidiary that has bet heavily on Gallus One, Gallus Five and the Experience Center, the message to the market is simple and deliberate: new faces at the top, same direction, and India plus digital remain the priorities that matter.
A clean handover at board level is itself a competitive asset in a market where converters plan capital purchases years ahead and want assurance the roadmap will outlast any single executive.
What converters should take from the announcement is that Gallus is managing succession rather than enduring a surprise, and that the digital and connected priorities built under Urbinati are explicitly carried forward rather than revisited. In a press market where roadmap certainty influences six-figure buying decisions, that continuity is worth as much as any single product launch on the schedule.
