Changes to the Executive Committee of Comet Group

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The Board of Directors of Comet Holding AG has appointed Stephan Haferl, currently President of the X-Ray Modules division (IXM), as new Chief Executive Officer of Comet Group. He will succeed Kevin Crofton who will leave the Group. As successor to Stephan Haferl as President of the IXM division, the Board of Directors has nominated Michael Berger, currently Vice President of Operations of IXM.

As part of long-term succession planning, Comet’s current CEO Kevin Crofton will hand over the CEO position to Stephan Haferl. Stephan Haferl will take over on September 1, 2022, from Kevin Crofton, who will leave the company at the end of August.  

In addition, the Board of Directors has appointed Michael Berger, currently Vice President of Operations of IXM, to succeed Stephan Haferl as President of the X-Ray Modules division as of September 1, 2022.

Heinz Kundert, Chairman of Comet Holding AG: “As part of our long-term succession planning, the Board of Directors is pleased to appoint Stephan Haferl as CEO of Comet. Stephan has an excellent track record within the Group and all the skills to further develop Comet towards its 2025 targets and beyond. He will continue to vigorously implement the strategic direction we have defined three years ago. We regret that for important personal reasons, Kevin Crofton will leave the company. In his two years at the helm, he has successfully shaped the Group into a higher-performing organization by sharpening its focus and introducing a corporate culture based on customer orientation, trust and empowerment. Under Kevin Crofton’s guidance, the company has significantly increased its revenue and profitability. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish Stephan Haferl and Michael Berger every success in their new roles. Also, I would like to express my highest gratitude to Kevin Crofton for his contribution to Comet’s success and wish him all the best for his professional and private future.”

Stephan Haferl joined Comet AG as Head of Operations, Engineering and Supply Chain of the Business Unit Industrial X-Ray and after having held various increasingly important positions he was 2018 promoted President of the Division Industrial X-Ray Modules.

Michael Berger joined Comet’s Industrial X-Ray Technology business unit as Production Manager in 2013. Since 2018 Michael Berger has led Comet’s Industrial X-Ray Modules Operations, Engineering and Supply Chain as Vice President of Operations.

Comet Group
The Comet Group is a world-leading, innovative Swiss technology company with a focus on plasma control and X-ray technology. With high-quality high-tech components and systems, we enable our customers to improve the quality of their products and at the same time to produce them more efficiently and in a more environmentally friendly manner. The innovative solutions are used in the semiconductor market, the aerospace and automotive industry as well as in the security testing sector. Comet Holding AG is headquartered in Flamatt, Switzerland, and is currently represented in all global markets. We employ over 1,500 people worldwide, around 500 of them in Switzerland. In addition to production sites in China, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Malaysia and the USA, we maintain various subsidiaries ­in Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the USA. Comet shares (COTN) are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange