The Gebrüder Weiss Supervisory Board has appointed Alessandro Cacciola as a new member of the Management Board. Effective March 1, 2026, he will head Air & Sea operations.
Cacciola follows Lothar Thoma, who will be leaving the company for personal reasons on March 31, 2026, when he will formally hand over the reins to his successor.
Wolfgang Niessner, Chair of the Gebrüder Weiss Supervisory Board, says: “In Alessandro Cacciola, we are gaining an experienced leader who possesses the abilities needed to both ensure continuity and generate new impulses at GW.
“With his support, we plan to further consolidate our expanding Air & Sea business, and grow our services on a global, future-oriented scale.”
Alessandro Cacciola brings more than two decades of experience in international logistics to the table.
He holds a degree in business administration with a focus on freight forwarding, transport and logistics, as well as an MBA in International Business Management & Leadership.
Cacciola began his professional career with the logistics provider Dachser; there, he held several European sales and executive positions before becoming the head of global sales and a member of the Dachser Air & Sea Logistics management board, helping to power the company’s international growth.
In 2019, Cacciola joined the management board of the Andreas Schmid Group and became its CEO. In this capacity, he was responsible for the organisation’s comprehensive restructuring and globalisation program.
Cacciola says: “Gebrüder Weiss is a top-drawer name in the industry and has always stood for credibility, quality and consistent customer centricity.
“I am looking forward to meeting my colleagues around the world. To my mind, the free-flowing exchange across and beyond national and cultural borders is an essential factor in success, one that also engenders personal motivation.
“The aim will be to drive the further strategic development of the Gebrüder Weiss product palette by placing a premium on service quality, integrative capability and sustainable solutions – thereby keeping the global supply chains resilient and future-proofed.”
Lothar Thoma has been a member of the Management Board at Gebrüder Weiss since September 1, 2019. Under his guidance, the Air & Sea division successfully evolved despite challenging phases in the market, including the Covid pandemic.
Landmark expansion measures took place during his tenure – in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, Poland, Germany and elsewhere.
“Starting with my initial experiences in our family business, I have had the good fortune to spend some 40 successful and eventful years in the logistics industry, getting to know myriad countries and cultures, and working with wonderful people. It was a good time, but now I would like to pursue other interests. I wish Alessandro Cacciola and my team great success and cohesiveness,” Thoma concludes.
“The company would like to explicitly thank Lothar Thoma for his many accomplishments and wish him all the best for the future,” says Wolfgang Niessner.
The handover from Lothar Thoma to Alessandro Cacciola will extend over a one-month transitional period to ensure continuity for customers, partners and staff alike.