Sartorius

Operational and capital allocation decisions sit with the executive board, whose members include CFO Florian Funck. The Supervisory Board, chaired by Lothar Kappich — executor of the Horst Sartorius estate — provides governance oversight. The founding family's three daughters, Karin Sartorius-Herbst, Christine Franken, and Ulrike Baro, exercise influence through their major shareholdings rather than executive roles.

Bio-Rad Laboratories holds roughly 38% of Sartorius AG's ordinary shares, making it the largest single minority investor. This strategic stake gives Bio-Rad significant governance weight alongside the Sartorius family daughters and shapes the company's orientation toward the life sciences supply chain that both firms serve.

The family retains substantial economic ownership through Karin Sartorius-Herbst, Christine Franken, and Ulrike Baro, all daughters of the late Horst Sartorius. Day-to-day control rests with a non-family executive board, while family interests are represented through the Supervisory Board chaired by longtime family executor Lothar Kappich.

Sartorius invests primarily as an operating company, channeling capital into production capacity expansion, R&D facilities, and acquisitions that extend its bioprocessing and laboratory equipment portfolio. Recent expansions include a cell and gene therapy competence center in Freiburg, Germany, and a bioprocess innovation center in Marlborough, USA.

The family operates two foundations: the Sartorius-Herbst-Stiftung and the Sartorius Stiftung. Additional legacy assets include the Sartorius Family Artist Legacy and a preserved wetland biotope in Göttingen, alongside mixed-use real estate development like the Sartorius Quartier in the firm's headquarters city.