BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The CEO of the Berlin-based recycling company Alba, Eric Schweitzer, is stepping down as head of the company on April 1. The reason is his illness with Parkinson's disease. This confirmed the company on Tuesday evening on request after a corresponding report of the "Berliner Morgenpost". Schweitzer told the newspaper: "I myself have known for three years that I have Parkinson's disease. So I won't have the performance capacity the company needs in the long run."

His successor as Alba CEO will be manager Robert Arbter, who has already worked at Alba from August 2019 to December 2020 and most recently at Berlin-based Gegenbauer, it said. Schweitzer, 57, was also president of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce from 2013 to 2021.

Schweitzer told the "Berliner Morgenpost" newspaper that he "needed a few months" to understand and also come to terms with his illness, then he accepted it. "For me, however, that means I have to make sure I have less stress and manage my strength better." He is doing well, he said. But Parkinson's is an incurable nerve disease, "which means my health will deteriorate over time."/brd/DP/ngu