On Thursday, September 19, the official memorial service was held for the entrepreneur and founder Prof. h.c. Dr. h.c. Dipl.-Ing. Karl Schlecht, who passed away in August.
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20.09.2024
Several hundred guests from the worlds of business, academia, the foundation sector and the local Filderstadt area gathered on the premises of the Putzmeister company in Aichtal to commemorate the life of the firm’s founder, who passed away at the age of 91.
In their memorial speeches, Dr. Katrin Schlecht, daughter and Chairwoman of the Karl Schlecht Foundation, Christoph Kaml, CEO Putzmeister Holding, Dr. h.c. Ernst Susanek (Honorary Member of the Foundation's Board of Trustees), Christoph Traub (Mayor of Filderstadt), Dr. Michael Stahl (legal advisor) and Dr. Lili Jassemi (foundation fellow) paid tribute to Karl Schlecht as a person, entrepreneur and benefactor. The FILUM Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Wieland, Music Director of the City of Filderstadt, and a selection of invited soloists provided the musical accompaniment.
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Dr. Katrin Schlecht commemorated her father in the following terms: “He was a great planner and inspirer.” She recalled personal anecdotes from the life of Karl Schlecht as father, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
“He was enthusiastic about his visions and was also able to inspire and infect others. He gave many people important impulses for their lives.”
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Christoph Kaml, CEO of Putzmeister Holding,
said in his eulogy: “As the inventor of the mortar machine, he not only revolutionized the construction industry, but also left deep marks and exemplary values in his environment and beyond. He was a highly valued boss, an inspiring colleague and, for many of you, a loyal friend or even part of the family.”
He described Karl Schlecht’s decision to Putzmeister in 2012 as “a well thought-out solution, and the best one for our company. In contrast to many other founders and entrepreneurs, Karl Schlecht acted early and with foresight.”
Christoph Kaml concluded with the words: “As part of the global Putzmeister Group, all employees have the utmost respect for Karl Schlecht's life of achievement. We will try to continue the company in his spirit and ensure that his entrepreneurial vigor lives on in all of us.”
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“He was a pioneering entrepreneur, ingenious engineer, inventor and patron of the arts who dedicated his entire life to his company and his foundation.”
Dr. h.c. Ernst Susanek
Honorary member of the KSG Board of Trustees
Dr. h.c. Ernst Susanek, long-standing Chairman and most recently honorary member of the Board of Trustees of the Karl Schlecht Foundation, described the founder as “an outstanding personality. He was a pioneering entrepreneur, ingenious engineer, inventor and patron of the arts who dedicated his entire life to his company and his foundation.”
In his speech, he explained Karl Schlecht’s philanthropic intentions:
“In establishing his foundation, he wanted on the one hand to pass on his own life and leadership experiences, and on the other to use teaching and research to explore leadership excellence and help make it a reality in practice. Karl Schlecht was convinced that a lack of leadership excellence is a frequent cause of many problems and bad decisions in business, politics and society. For Karl Schlecht, it was important to support young people with leadership talent in their value-oriented character and personality development, to qualify them for leadership excellence in business and thus to align their actions with economically efficient, socially just and ecologically viable sustainability.”
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Christoph Traub, Lord Mayor of Filderstadt, paid tribute to the work of Karl Schlecht, who was always very attached to his hometown, with the following words:
“He was deeply committed to providing opportunities, creating conditions for others, passing on what he had discovered, preserving what was good and turning visions into action. With Karl Schlecht, Filderstadt has lost a successful inventor and entrepreneur, a forward-thinking spirit and a preserver of the past, as well as a friend and patron in many areas of the arts, culture and education.”
In his speech, Dr. Michael Stahl, a long-time legal companion, described Karl Schlecht as a man who
“...took pleasure in life and therefore always remained true to his motto: “Take pleasure in serving, improving, creating value.” In view of this ongoing task, he never wanted to come to terms with death.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, irrecoverably. A great man has died.”
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Dr. Lili Jassemi
is a doctoral graduate (in 2022) of the KSG-funded Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics. She spoke on behalf of the many KSG scholarship-holders and project participants.
“I was able to meet Mr. Schlecht and his team in person in Aichtal shortly after submitting my doctoral thesis. It's all about implementation - 'Don't talk, do it' - that was the leitmotif of our first and all other meetings.
On behalf of all the foundation's beneficiaries, I would like to thank them for giving us the opportunity to pursue our passion. In this way, we act as multipliers of Karl Schlecht's spirit in order to make our individual contribution to a good, collaborative and trusting world of tomorrow.”
After the 90-minute memorial service, the guests were invited to share memories over a drink. We would like to thank everyone for their expressions of sympathy.
The Board of Directors would also like to express its special thanks to the Putzmeister company and its team, as well our invited speakers, foundation representatives, external service providers (tech experts, florists, film-team, photographers, security, catering), the FILUM Symphony Orchestra and the soloists who made this memorial service possible with their unstinting support.