Schwarz Group, Lidl, Kaufland, “InvestmentWeek”, Deiters, BP, Deutsche Telekom – that was Wednesday, February 26, 2025

A German discount empire that is moving into the cloud - and is even challenging Amazon and Google on this upward trajectory: The Schwarz Group is growing beyond Lidl and Kaufland and is opening up digital business areas - from cloud services to the development of artificial intelligence. Gerd Chrzanowski (53), CEO of the Schwarz Group, stands for this transformation. A jury from manager magazine has named him "Manager of the Year" for this. In an interview with my colleagues Martin Mehringer and Simone Salden, he explains how food retail and digital businesses go together and what opportunities he sees to catch up with the tech superpowers USA and China.