The nephew of Ernst Leitz III was born in Frankfurt on the Main in 1936. He studied Business Administration in Munich and Fontainebleau, and later received his Doctorate in Political Science from Philipps University, Marburg. He joined Ernst Leitz GmbH as assistant to the director in 1966. In 1971 he became Managing Director.
In 1972, on behalf of the Leitz shareholder group, Knut Kühn-Leitz was responsible for the contractual agreement covering the collaboration between Ernst Leitz GmbH and Wild Heerbrugg AG, Switzerland, in the field of microscopy. Two years later, during a difficult economic period, Wild took over the majority of the Leitz family's shareholdings in Ernst Leitz GmbH. Knut Kühn-Leitz remained in charge of company planning, and when Wild took over all the shares of the Leitz family group in 1986, he moved from company management to the Board of Directors.
Knut Kühn-Leitz is currently Chairman of the Board of the Ernst Leitz Foundation in Wetzlar.
