The President of the Federal Republic of Germany has awarded Eva Mayr-Stihl the First Class Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Eva Mayr-Stihl joined the STIHL company about 50 years ago and is now the Deputy Chairwoman of the Advisory Board of STIHL Holding AG & Co. KG, Waiblingen, as well as the founder and Chairwoman of the EVA MAYR-STIHL FOUNDATION. With the award of this Order of Merit, the German state expresses its gratitude for Mrs. Mayr-Stihl's commitment and services to her country.
"Outstanding entrepreneur and a fine example of the social market economy at its best"
The Order of Merit was presented by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Economics of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Dr. Nils Schmid, at the company's headquarters in Waiblingen on September 27. In his laudation, he pointed out: "For several decades, Eva Mayr-Stihl has been involved in the promotion of business, culture and many other areas of our society. This commitment deserves respect and recognition." He stated that as an outstanding entrepreneur, Eva Mayr-Stihl is a fine example of the social market economy at its best. "She has made a substantial contribution to the growth and worldwide success of STIHL, a family-run company, and thus to the creation and safeguarding of thousands of jobs," continued Minister Dr. Schmid.
Decisive contribution to the company's success
Eva Mayr-Stihl has played a significant role in the positive development of the STIHL Group over several decades. She took over the management of STIHL together with her brother, Hans Peter Stihl, in 1973. As one of the company's owners, as the Member of the Executive Board for Finance and Controlling, and as Deputy Chairwoman of the Executive Board, she was highly involved in developing STIHL's employee-oriented corporate culture and worked hard to achieve not only financial stability for the company, but also social company benefits such as employee capital participation and company pensions.
EVA MAYR-STIHL FOUNDATION: services for society as a whole
Together with her husband, Robert Mayr, Eva Mayr-Stihl founded a charitable foundation 25 years ago. The foundation's capital, which has meanwhile risen to 80 million euros, is applied to support various projects, mainly with a cultural, scientific or charitable focus. A large proportion of the projects supported are located in the Stuttgart region or the Rems-Murr district. One prominent example is the sponsorship of the Stihl Gallery in Waiblingen.
Active voluntary work in numerous positions
Eva Mayr-Stihl is involved in a wide range of voluntary activities. In 2001 for example, she was appointed upon the proposal of Germany's Federal Minister for Economics and Technology to the five-member Quality Control Commission of the German Chamber of Public Accountants. From 1994 until 2002, she acted as the internal auditor of Südwestmetall, a regional employers' association. She held the same position at Gesamtmetall, a nationwide employers' association, and as of 2000 also at the Confederation of German Employers' Associations. She was also a member of the boards of the Baden-Württemberg Association of Metalworker Employers (VMI) and of Südwestmetall. In 1997, the Stuttgart branch of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce appointed her to its steering committee, in which she was active until 2004.