Carl August Sautier

WilkhahnBad Münder, Germany

Carl-August Sautier, longstanding Head of Innovation and Ecology at Wilkhahn died at the age of 60 following a serious illness. Carl-August Sautier, born in 1947, had a commercial training and at office furniture manufacturers Wilkhahn he achieved a remarkable career, rising from salesman to Head of Marketing, In 1988, he became Head of Product Development which was integrated into the newly created management division of "Innovation & Ecology" in 1990. The outstanding achievements of this lateral thinker included the development management for the Picto office chair range, which was the first office chair in the world to integrate consistently ecological concerns, and for the Confair range, which set a new standard for dynamic and self-organized conference interiors. In close collaboration with designers such as Hans ("Nick") Roehricht, Burkhard Schmitz, Franz Biggel, Andreas Störiko and wiege members of staff, Carl-August Sautier demonstrated great tenacity, competence and professional fervour in shaping the combination of design and ecology, as well as the systematic preparation of guidelines for furnishing communication and conference environments. Both were visionary themes that today continue to shape Wilkhahn's international brand image and are entrenched in its corporate culture. After working for Wilkhahn for 26 years, Carl-August Sautier decided to accept a new challenge as managing director of another company in 1997. In 2003 he had to give up work due to a serious illness. Following a long and hard battle to overcome his illness, Carl-August Sautier died on 19 March.

(2008)

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