Business leaders through the ages

E-T-A was founded in 1948 by Jakob Ellenberger and Harald A. Poensgen and has been owned by their families ever since. Today E-T-A has approximately 1200 employees worldwide and a globe-spanning network of representatives and subsidiaries covering more than 60 countries.  Although E-T-A is an internationally operating business, it is still led by the owner families in the third generation.

Over the past seven decades, the following family members were also members of the management board after a period of familiarisation:

  • Jakob Ellenberger      1948 – 1975
  • Harald A. Poensgen   1948 – 1983
  • Eberhard Poensgen   1956 – 1993
  • William F. Sell             1964 – 2005
  • Norbert Ellenberger    1966 – 1994
  • Horst Ellenberger        1971 – 2006 
  • Carl Horst Poensgen  1983 - 2013
  • Dr. Clifford Sell            since 1999
  • Bernd Ellenberger       2002 – 2010
  • Philip Poensgen          2006 - 2014
  • Dr. Jennifer Sell           since 2012