Company News, Capital market-relevant press releases Sep 30, 2019 12:35 PM
Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG confirms personnel changes on Executive Board
- Executive Board mandate of Guido Kerkhoff terminated by mutual agreement
- Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board Martina Merz becomes CEO
- Dr. Klaus Keysberg appointed as new member of the Executive Board
- Prof. Dr. Siegfried Russwurm takes over as Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Martina Merz will take over as CEO of thyssenkrupp AG on October 1. This was unanimously decided by the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG in an extraordinary meeting last Friday. The current Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board will be delegated to the Group Executive Board for a maximum period of twelve months, after which she will return to the Supervisory Board. With Guido Kerkhoff, the current CEO, the Supervisory Board agreed on the mutual termination of his mandate on the Executive Board.
Guido Kerkhoff: "I would like to thank the employees of thyssenkrupp for their support, which I received especially last year. My goal has always been making thyssenkrupp successful again. It was therefore a matter of course for me last year to take responsibility for the company at a particularly difficult time. I am convinced that the strategic realignment we announced in May will be a success. The company is close to my heart, so I wish Martina Merz, the new Executive Board and all employees all the best for the future and a successful future for the company."
Martina Merz: "I would like to thank Guido Kerkhoff for his commitment to thyssenkrupp. Last year, he took on responsibility as CEO in a difficult situation and did not hide away. That deserves great respect. We are now looking to the future and continuing our strategic realignment. In the new Executive Board team we will take the structural decisions now on the agenda with the necessary consistency. It's all about positioning thyssenkrupp in such a way that we become better at the end. Only if we achieve this we can strengthen confidence in thyssenkrupp again."
With the delegation of Martina Merz, the Supervisory Board followed the recommendations of the Personnel Committee. In addition, the Supervisory Board appointed Dr. Klaus Keysberg to the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp AG effective October 1. Keysberg, who will be responsible for the materials businesses on the Group Executive Board, has held various positions at thyssenkrupp since 1996 and has been CEO of the Business Area Materials Services since the beginning of the year. He will continue to hold this position until a successor is appointed.
Martina Merz's successor at the head of the Supervisory Board will be Prof. Dr. Siegfried Russwurm. The former Siemens Executive Board member has been a member of the Supervisory Board since April 2019.
Siegfried Russwurm: "The Supervisory Board thanks Guido Kerkhoff for his commitment to thyssenkrupp in more than eight years. We wish him all the best for the future. We as the Supervisory Board are convinced that Martina Merz is now the right person to head the company. She has many years of management experience and knows the company well. With Klaus Keysberg we also have a new Board member who knows the materials business at thyssenkrupp very well. The new Executive Board team will strengthen the confidence of the capital markets, shareholders, customers and employees in our company. I am absolutely convinced of this".