Georg Wunderlin will be the first non-family boss to take over the management of Cofra Holding in April 2027 and brings with him almost 30 years of experience in the financial industry.
Cofra aims to increase assets under management to around 70 billion euros by 2034; It is currently around 40 billion euros.
Cofra Holding is expanding its business as an asset manager and wants to increase capital from other large investors in addition to the family assets.
Cofra's three investment companies focus on sustainable investments with science-based climate goals and provide low-interest loans for sustainable development.
Dusseldorf. For the first time in its 185-year history, the holding company of the fashion chain C&A, Cofra, is bringing an outsider to the top. Georg Wunderlin, most recently head of the British asset manager Schroders Capital, will take over the chief position in April 2027 and join the board of directors.
The 55-year-old succeeds Boudewijn Beerkens, who belongs to the extended Brenninkmeijer family of owners, and is retiring. The Cofra board of directors announced this on Tuesday afternoon.
Cofra Holding AG, based in Zug, Switzerland, is the parent company of the Brenninkmeijer family of entrepreneurs. The company has offices and branches throughout Europe, in London, New York and on both coasts of the USA. The family became known by founding the fashion chain C&A in 1841, which immortalized the first letters of their first names Clemens and August.
Of around 2,000 family members, only 50 to 60 belong to the circle of owners. They form the so-called “Sneeker Kring”, named after the Dutch town of Sneek.
Secretive business family
The Brenninkmeijer family of entrepreneurs is one of the most secretive in Europe. In the past few weeks, Cofra announced three new personnel changes: At the beginning of October, the company announced the change at the top of the board of directors, which was also planned for April. Cofra CFO Florian Brenninkmeyer, who will be in office until the end of the year, will then lead the board of directors as a member of the sixth generation of the entrepreneurial family.
A few days later, Cofra announced that Henry Schirmer would take over the position of Cofra CFO from Florian Brenninkmeyer at the beginning of 2027. Schirmer was previously CFO at recruitment agency Randstad and CFO for Europe and North America at consumer goods group Unilever before joining Cofra in 2024.
According to Cofra, the planned leadership succession has now been completed.
Investor instead of entrepreneur at the top
With 55-year-old Wunderlin, a man who has almost 30 years of experience in the financial industry is moving to the top of the holding company. He is not only the first non-family member to head Cofra, but also the first professional investor in the position.
His mission is clear: increase the family wealth and attract even more money from outside the family. Acting Cofra CEO Beerkens had already declared the goal of increasing assets under management to around 70 billion euros by 2034 in one of his rare interviews in 2024. It is currently around 40 billion euros, according to Cofra.
The future chairman of the board of directors, Florian Brenninkmeyer, says that the board of directors and the owner family see in Wunderlin the combination of “leadership skills, investment experience, ambition and modesty.” Wunderlin has already built two private market platforms. His commitment to sustainability and impact investing fits with the mission of acting as a “positive force in the world” through entrepreneurial activity.
The Brenninkmeijer family of entrepreneurs belongs to a relatively small group of around 15 percent of high-net-worth investors who pursue sustainability for the climate and society as equal goals to returns. A large majority of 50 to 60 percent have so far only done this selectively, or when it suits them. And a good quarter of investors separate “the good deed” from their investments.
This is one of the findings of a recently published study of 129 companies with more than two trillion euros in assets under management, which the research institute ResFutura prepared on behalf of large entrepreneurial families. The study shows that the investment companies with which entrepreneurial families are increasingly cooperating are gradually gaining competence in the topic of sustainable transformation.
From retailer to asset manager
Cofra has been expanding its business into an asset manager since the start of Beerkens' term in 2019. The idea is to manage and increase not only the assets of the Brenninkmeijer family, but also those of other family offices, foundations and large investors. This course is expected to accelerate under the new leadership.
Wunderlin was recommended for this assignment. First, he more than tripled Schroders' assets under management from $38 billion to $116 billion during his tenure from 2019 to 2026.
Secondly, Wunderlin should ensure that the investments achieve good things for people and the environment. As head of Schroders Capital, Wunderlin was responsible, among other things, for the takeover of the Zurich impact investor Blue Orchard with assets under management of $3.5 billion and still sits on the board of directors there.
This year, Schroders was taken over by asset manager Nuveen. Nuveen is part of one of the largest US pension funds (TIAA). Bloomberg had already reported in September that Wunderlin was leaving the asset manager.
The financial expert justifies his move to Cofra with the rapid change in the industry. “Investors are increasingly pooling their capital with the largest platforms and highly specialized providers,” he said. At Cofra, on the other hand, he had “a rare combination of his own capital, a long-term perspective and the desire to act as a positive force in the world – and that was exactly what made the difference for me.”
Acquired numerous external investors
Cofra currently invests through the three investment companies Bregal (private equity), Redevco (real estate) and Anthos Fund & Asset Management (asset management). In the past, the holding company has kept a low profile about which external investors the investment companies were able to attract. In 2025, Bregal only reported that 85 institutional investors were invested in the company.
According to research by Handelsblatt, the external investors include the Goldman Sachs Foundation, LGT Capital Partners, the Spanish development financier Cofides, several US pension funds and CBRE Investment Management for the solar expansion of so-called retail parks.
All investment companies have science-based climate targets. One billion euros flows through the real estate investment company Redevco into improving buildings alone. The Europe-wide program modernizes existing buildings, makes them more sustainable and reduces their emissions. A funding program for sustainable development worth 250 million euros provides low-interest loans to Bregal's portfolio companies. This means they should operate more sustainably and reduce their emissions.
C&A remains unmentioned
In the current press release, the nucleus of the company's assets - the fashion chain C&A - plays no role. When asked how important the retail business will be in the future, Cofra said that the independent supervisory board of C&A Europe continues to monitor the company and its strategic direction. He continues to focus his full attention on “delighting customers with the best products and the best shopping experience at affordable prices.”
