Berthold Leibinger (26 November 1930 – 16 October 2018) was a German mechanical engineer, businessman, and philanthropist. He was the head of the German company Trumpf, a leader in laser technology, and founder of the non-profit foundation Berthold Leibinger Stiftung. He served on the advisory board of major companies and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Stuttgart.
Life
Born in Stuttgart, Berthold Leibinger grew up in Korntal with two siblings. He graduated with Abitur at the Ulrich-von-Hutten Gymnasium in Korntal in 1950. He started an apprenticeship as a mechanic at Trumpf and then studied mechanical engineering at the Stuttgart Technology University of Applied Sciences. After graduating with a Diplom, he became a development engineer in 1958 at Cincinnati Milling Machines (today Milacron) in Cincinnati. In 1961 he returned to Germany and to Trumpf as head of the engineering division. In 1968 he developed the first contour nibbling machine tool with numerical control. The owner of the company, Christian Trumpf, having no children, named Leibinger as his successor. Leibinger successively took over shares of the company and served as technical director from 1966. He was managing director and partner from 1978. On 18 November 2005, he retired from management and served as chairman of the supervisory board of the Trumpf Group until the end of 2012.