Author: Redaktion GBR

Michael Haubrich
News from the scene

Supervisory Board of the week: Michael Haubrich (Electronic Partner)

A new era is dawning at the Düsseldorf trading company Electronic Partner: With the founder’s grandson Michael Haubrich, the last family member withdraws from the operative business. As the Verbundgruppe announced this week, the 40-year-old, who has been a member of the Managing Board since 2010, will move to the four-member Board of Directors at the beginning of April. There he meets two other family members: Rüdiger and board chairman …

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Managergehälter
Flops

Manager salaries: Beiersdorf and the Heidenreich salary

Performance must be rewarded, no question. But especially when everyone is talking about team spirit, the lead of the first management team should not be too big. This is another reason why the Beiersdorf Supervisory Board around Reinhard Pöllath must now be asked: Was the salary of 23.4 million euros, which Stefan Heidenreich, who has since retired as CEO, collected according to Capital 2018, really in the interest of the …

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Frauenquote Aufsichtsrat
Tops

Women’s quota: The most powerful supervisory board members in the Dax

Thanks to the statutory women’s quota of 30 percent, the Dax companies have appointed dozens of female supervisory board members. But only a few have made it into the inner circle: according to a Handelsblatt search, only 55 women sit on the powerful presidential, nominal, personnel and mediation committees. This corresponds to a share of around 19 percent. The 12-member Covestro Supervisory Board is better than average, with vice-chair Petra …

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Katarina Barley
DEHNEN.s Corner

Code reform: The Federal Ministry of Justice keeps its distance and recommends trusting the government commission. Why it’s too much to ask.

Katarina Barley’s head of department replied to our letter to the Federal Ministry of Justice. Just to summarize: Ulrich Seibert writes with very nice words – nothing, at least nothing substantial. The motto seems to be “What do we care about the sensitivities of the German economy when European elections are held”. A succinct but nevertheless remarkable passage in the answer is: “I would be quite relaxed if the Commission, …

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Frauenquote
Flops

Women’s quota: How Zalando & Co. provoke new laws

Yes, a target figure of “0 percent” for the women’s quota may make sense temporarily – for example, if a board consists of only two to three men who have different “mindsets”. However, in such cases companies have to take the trouble to explain their motives in a comprehensible way in the annual report. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. The Handelsblatt, for example, criticises the automotive supplier Norma, …

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Christoph von Grolman
News from the scene

Supervisory Board of the week: Christoph von Grolman (Tengelmann)

The supervisory board of the Mülheim trading giant Tengelmann has elected a new chairman: Since the end of last week, Christoph von Grolman has been acting as head of the advisory board. The 60-year-old thus succeeds the lawyer Thomas Kramer, who had already resigned his mandate at the end of the year. “With the other members Franz Markus Haniel, the trade expert Alfons Frenk and not least my brother Georg …

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Managergehälter
Tops

Commerzbank: „My Boni is over the Ocean“

The Supervisory Board of Commerzbank has significantly reduced the bonuses of Martin Zielke’s Board of Managing Directors. As the Handelsblatt reports, the inspectors had raised the base salaries in return, but the bottom line was that manager salaries had fallen. The driving force was probably the “Remuneration Control Committee” of the Supervisory Board, which includes the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Stefan Schmittmann, his Vice Chairman Uwe Tschäge and another …

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#KodexWende
DEHNEN.s Corner

The #KodexWende is attracting attention in the USA and internationally. Why we (finally) should also look beyond the edge of our plate

Last Friday, the renowned US government newsletter Global Proxy Watch devoted itself in detail to the reform of the German Code of Conduct. Under the heading “Code Breakers”, editors Aaron Bernstein and Havard Professor Stephen Davis reported on the harsh criticism from companies, our open letter to Federal Justice Minister Katarina Barley and the #KodexWende initiative. That shows Abroad, the German debate is being followed with interest, but often with …

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Hasso Plattner
Tops

Hasso Plattner: The involuntary code rebel

Should a 75-year-old, who has been in office for 16 years, rejoin the Supervisory Board as Chairman? This contradicts the pure doctrine of governance twice, because it has exceeded the age limit and is no longer considered “independent” simply because of its long term of office. On the other hand, Hasso Plattner is a special case: his role at SAP goes beyond that of Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The …

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Hermann Gröhe
News from the scene

Supervisory Board of the week: Hermann Gröhe (Ecclesia)

The former Federal Minister of Health Hermann Gröhe (CDU) becomes a member of the supervisory board of the insurance broker Ecclesia based in Detmold. As the industry magazine AssCompact reported this week, Gröhe is moving into the committee at the beginning of April – then the one-year waiting period, which former ministers have to comply with, has expired. The Federal Government had already decided in February that there were “no …

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Wolfgang Reitzle
Flops

Wolfgang Reitzle: Pioneer of an excessive shareholder value culture?

At Linde, another wind is blowing after the merger with the US company Praxair. This is the clear message of a double interview with CEO Steve Angel and Chairman Wolfgang Reitzle in the Handelsblatt: From his point of view, “continuous improvements and shareholder value” are central, said Angel, who last collected 22 million dollars a year. Wolfgang Reitzle also spoke in detail about the shareholders and referred several times to …

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