Voith names Denise Kurtulus CEO of Voith Turbo

Voith Group has appointed Denise Kurtulus to its Corporate Board of Management and named her CEO of

Kurtulus will oversee Voith Turbo’s global operations, succeeding Cornelius Weitzmann, who left the company at his own request at the end of 2025. Until she assumes the role, Dirk Hoke will continue to lead the division on an interim basis.

Denise Kurtulus

Kurtulus joins Voith from Rolls-Royce Power Systems, where she most recently led the company’s Marine and Mining divisions. Her background includes leadership roles in sales, service and strategic business development, with a focus on drive technology and industrial markets.

Voith said Kurtulus was selected to lead the division as it pushes to improve profitability, streamline operations and strengthen its position in global drive technology markets. The company said her experience in customer-facing operations and strategic growth initiatives aligns with its effort to expand higher-value service offerings and improve execution speed across the business.

“Denise Kurtulus has demonstrated her ability to quickly navigate complex markets and consistently translate them into operational strength,” said Siegfried Russwurm, chairman of Voith’s Shareholders’ Committee and Supervisory Board. “With her strong customer focus and deep industry expertise, she is the ideal person to align Voith Turbo even more closely with global market needs and sustainably strengthen the competitiveness of our drive business.”

Hoke said the appointment reflects Voith’s focus on profitable growth and operational discipline in its drive technology segment.

“With Denise Kurtulus, we are sharpening our focus on performance and competitiveness in the drive technology business,” Hoke said. “Our goal is to consistently align Voith Turbo with profitable growth, reduce complexity, and further increase execution speed.”

Kurtulus said her priority will be to align the business more closely with market demand while improving efficiency and expanding Voith Turbo’s position in selected growth segments.

“Voith Turbo operates in a challenging market environment with clear requirements in terms of competitiveness and focus,” she said. “My goal is to further develop the business in line with our market and customer needs and significantly expand our position in selected segments.”

Voith Turbo supplies drive systems, components and digital services to customers across oil and gas, power generation, mining, marine, rail and industrial markets. The division is one of the core operating businesses within the Voith Group, which reported about $5.4 billion in annual sales and employs roughly 21,000 people worldwide.