DEHNEN.s Corner

Wirecard
DEHNEN.s Corner

Wirecard is a wake-up call! We need a corporate governance master plan.

Dear readers of GermanBoardNews, while the German government is acquiring shares in Lufthansa and ‘delegates’ its representatives to the Supervisory Board, the other prominent shareholder, Commerzbank, has the Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, because they obviously cannot/do not want to withstand pressure from an investor (see our top vs. flop today). I would like to first of all dedicate myself again …

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Deutsche Börse
DEHNEN.s Corner

The Wirecard case proves: Corporate governance regulations in Germany have reached their limits. It is time for a change of course!

Dear readers of the GermanBoardNews, what is going on in Corporate Germany? We dealt with Lufthansa on several occasions, and then Wirecard suddenly surprised us. Really? Yes. I too was inclined to see the company with rose-colored glasses. After all, Wirecard has brought reputable supervisory board members on board in the last two years (and, by the way, has a quota of women that exceeds everything else). Further Supervisory Board …

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Deutsche Börse
DEHNEN.s Corner

Corporate Governance: How Theodor Weimer can make the stock exchange a better place

Dear reader of GermanBoardNews, theodor Weimer is currently one of the most sought-after decision-makers. His appointment to the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank has met with a positive response far beyond the financial sector. Dissenting voices were raised only because there were fears in Deutsche Börse’s environment that he could replace Paul Achleitner as Chairman of the Supervisory Board as early as 2022 – and therefore leave as CEO. That …

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Lufthansa
DEHNEN.s Corner

The worst case with Lufthansa seems to have been averted. But that is not enough: We urgently need a good governance alliance between politics and business.

Dear readers of the GermanBoardNews, the good news of the week was: The German government does not want to send politicians or state secretaries, but two independent experts to the supervisory board of Lufthansa. If the boards and the EU Commission approve the entry of the Corona Rescue Fund WSF, the company should therefore retain important entrepreneurial leeway. That’s a good thing. However, we will be watching very closely to …

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Lufthansa
DEHNEN.s Corner

The state is not a good entrepreneur. The rescue fund WSF should therefore dispense with detailed specifications – and instead define central governance principles.

Dear readers of GermanBoardNews, the debate on the entry of the state rescue fund WSF into Lufthansa is in full swing. The result will have a signal effect: It is about nothing less than the question of whether we are heading for a state economy. Will politicians and ministry officials decide in future on the course of the companies that the taxpayer is rescuing? This would be devastating for the …

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Der Corona-Rettungsfonds WSF bedroht die unternehmerische Freiheit.
DEHNEN.s Corner

The Corona Rescue Fund WSF threatens entrepreneurial freedom. Governance issues will decide the future of the business location.

Dear readers of the GermanBoardNews, after a short Corona break we will get back to you while the Corona madness goes into the next round. Medicine, economy, society – three crises in one, and one more complex than the other. For me it is clear: we must not think regionally or nationally now. Instead, we must try to understand the global dimension, at least to some extent. But we were …

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Corona-Krise
DEHNEN.s Corner

The corona crisis relentlessly exposes governance weaknesses – and has the potential to be a catalyst for reform. But for now, the important thing is to stay healthy!

Dear readers of GermanBoardNews, the corona crisis has also hit us hard: With a heavy heart, we have decided to cancel the German Supervisory Board Meeting in early May or postpone it to a later date. I’m sure you understand and support this – health is an absolute priority at the moment, and every individual is called upon to make his or her contribution and show solidarity with the elderly …

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Krisen erschüttern die Wirtschaft
DEHNEN.s Corner

Corona, Turkey, Syria: Crises shake up the economy, trust becomes a temporary knighthood. What does this mean for management and supervisory boards?

Dear readers of GermanBoardNews, the “coronavirus” is turning the world upside down. Worries, fears, panic are spreading. None of this would have been imaginable a few months ago. As if digitalization, electrification and the climate crisis weren’t enough challenges to overcome – not to mention the events in Syria, on the Turkish-Greek border, in Thuringia and in Hanau, which leave us as speechless as they do ashamed. Unfortunately, not much …

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Aufmerksamkeitsblase
DEHNEN.s Corner

Supervisory boards are in the focus of media and public attention before the AGM season. Is this (once again) an attention bubble – or a harbinger of fundamental change?

HELAU, dear readers of GermanBoardNews, the business media are devoting increasing attention to the topic of “Corporate Governance”. Three weeks ago, for example, SPIEGEL wrote under the heading “Loss of control” about “the supervisory boards of DAX corporations”. In the spotlight were (once again) the gentlemen Achleitner, Wenning, Kaeser, Hagemann Snabe and Zetsche. In its current issue, the Manager Magazine highlights two governance topics at once: Dietmar Palan writes in …

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Siemens Hauptversammlung
DEHNEN.s Corner

A short excursion into comedy – and an all the more serious message

Dear readers of the GermanBoardNews, one of the highlights of this week was certainly the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of Siemens and Joe Kaeser on Wednesday. You may have seen it on the evening news: There he sat, the CEO during the last general meeting of his term of office, and read from a sheet of paper with his head almost bowed: “If we were again in the situation where we …

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Gestaltung
DEHNEN.s Corner

Digital transformation, climate protection, economic warfare: How we can design corporate governance that is both company and stakeholder friendly.

Dear readers of the GermanBoardNews, while we are keeping an eye on Davos these days, Larry Fink of BlackRock has already sent out his infamous annual CEO letter. Even though it talks about a “fundamental reshaping of finance”, the announced ‘swing’ towards sustainability should not really surprise anyone. And also the topic of climate change should by now be understood by everyone, at least in its basic aspects. One wonders, …

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GBN
DEHNEN.s Corner

Let’s go into the 20s – with a new generation and new ideas for #FutureGoodGovernance

Dear readers of the GermanBoardNews, Happy 2020! We are starting the new year(tenth) with great momentum and will continue to research and comment on current developments and challenges in the world of corporate governance for you. In particular, we will keep an eye on the Association of Supervisory Boards in Germany (VARD) and its initiative #FutureGoodGovernance. And there it starts right away: Much earlier than usual (the European Football Championship …

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