Nachrichten aus der Corporate Governance Szene
*Anyone who thinks entrepreneurially must take a clear stance against populists. A plea for more consistent business lobbying We don’t know about you. But we can’t get the images of the storming of the Capitol out of our minds. The event brought home to all of us with brutal clarity how fragile our democracy is. It is not self-evident or immutable; it is an achievement that must be defended. And …
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The danger of blockades in the controlling bodies is growing. Why we need to rethink co-determination to prevent dangerous hangings. Good supervisory boards have been pushing vehemently for some time for flatter hierarchies and shorter decision-making paths. Because they have recognized: Only “agile” companies could react fast enough to rapid technological and social changes. It is therefore all the more annoying when the supervisory boards themselves become the brake on …
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Age does not protect you from performance: Why the head of the SAP supervisory board did many things right this year – and what his counterpart at Daimler missed out on. Admittedly, at first glance there is little to speak for Hasso Plattner as “Supervisory Board of the Year 2020”: First, co-chair Jennifer Morgan had to take her hat off after only six months. Then the Group revised its forecast …
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It is in the crisis that character shows itself, they say. Those who have proven their worth in the pandemic so far – and those who have not. As the end of the year approaches, it is time for a balance sheet. We therefore asked ourselves: Which owners and managers have proven in 2020 that “responsible corporate governance” is more than just an empty phrase for them? During our research …
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With a delay of nine years, the Berlin airport opens BER. In order to prevent a repetition of this, politicians must define new public governance standards – and in doing so, orient themselves to Lufthansa. We can hardly believe it, but on Saturday it should actually happen: The first planes are landing at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport – a mere 14 years after construction began and almost nine years later than planned. …
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The initiative for a new legal form meets with resistance – because of an unfortunate choice of name and biting reflexes. At its core, it is about optimal conditions for good corporate governance. If Karl Marx had still experienced this: Capital is struggling to be allowed to expropriate itself. Because the “GmbH in Verantwortungseigentum”, which wants to establish an entrepreneurial and expert initiative as a new legal form, is supposed …
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After taking over a substantial block of shares, CEO Mathias Döpfner will have even more power at Axel Springer AG. Largely unnoticed, however, another doer has gained influence: At the beginning of the year Alex Karp moved from the Supervisory Board to the six-member Shareholders’ Committee, to which Friede Springer and Johannes Huth (KKR) also belong. The founder of the US software group Palantir, who made his debut on the …
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Following the appointment of Thomas Rabe as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, different philosophies collide in Herzogenaurach. This holds potential for conflict – and the chance to learn from each other. One of the most exciting personalities this summer was the election of Thomas Rabe (55) as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Adidas: As planned, the Bertelsmann CEO replaced 76-year-old Igor Landau in August, who had previously served as …
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Ever since the Corona crisis everyone has been talking about social responsibility. But in practice things look different: Shareholder value apologists have won the next big victory in the shape of Cerberus
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The exchange of blows between Lufthansa’s major shareholder Thiele, management, and the German government shows We need more entrepreneurial spirit in the corporations. Heinz-Hermann Thiele is a wanderer between two worlds: On the one hand, the owner of Knorr-Bremse is a genuine medium-sized entrepreneur with a patriarchal habitus. On the other hand, the 79-year-old skilfully moves in the habitat of top managers, investment bankers and M&A lawyers, as he …
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In the corona crisis, the stock markets have moved far away from reality – especially in the USA. This underlines the fact that prices and indices are poor indicators for assessing economies and companies. Can we change this? If the future is traded on the stock exchange, the Corona pandemic will soon be over. During the week, the major indices almost returned to pre-crisis levels – even in the …
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What is more important – rapid growth or customer satisfaction? The SAP Supervisory Board in the Walldorf “Clash of Cultures” gave a convincing answer. What some dismissed as a “settling of accounts” with former CEO Bill McDermott was much more: In an interview with Handelsblatt last week, SAP founder Hasso Plattner gave deep insights into the company’s culture – and at the same time revealed the real reason for Jennifer …
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