Tops

The Darmstadt-based pharmaceutical group Merck, which is rich in tradition, has a very special structure: The “members of the Executive Board” around CEO Stefan Oschmann are also personally liable partners. In case of emergency “the first thing I do is lose my private money”, Oschmann said recently in an interview. “I’m fully adhered.” And even beyond that, the top managers at Merck KGaA are almost on a par with real …

The problem with many compensation systems is that managers have great opportunities for lavish bonuses, but hardly any risks. Entrepreneurial thinking is not encouraged in this way – on the contrary: the system creates incentives to increase sales and/or profits in the short term, which is often at the expense of long-term development opportunities (keyword reputation). For this reason it is, in our view, a logical reaction to the diesel …

Ulrich Seibert of the Federal Ministry of Justice pointed out the delisting trend at the German Supervisory Board Congress (DART) in November: More and more companies are saying goodbye to the stock market. And this is not just because private equity investors are swimming in money and buying up companies. Another major cause is the pressure from impatient investors, which in our view is a fire hazard: Time and again, …

Whether you support it or not, we are experiencing a renaissance of industrial policy. Politicians of all stripes are placing growing hopes in public companies – especially with a view to climate protection: Rail should become a real alternative to domestic flights. Municipal transport companies are to develop innovative mobility platforms. Public utilities are to produce green electricity and build charging stations for electric cars. However, we fear that as …

We had to point this out again last week for a sad reason: The Krupp Foundation suffers from severe design defects – and so does the company. The counterexample is Robert Bosch GmbH, which thanks to intelligent governance structures can play off the advantages of a foundation company and has been a success for generations. We are convinced that more Bosch would be good for Germany as a business location, …

FC Bayern Munich in the “Tops” of the GermanBoardNews? Some will rub their eyes in amazement after we have often criticized the club. Because of Uli Hoeneß, who returned to the top of the supervisory board after his prison sentence. Because of the Alphatier Supervisory Board. Because of the term of office of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. But now the cards are being reshuffled: since last week it has been clear that …

In addition to the usual suspects such as Ann-Kristin Achleitner, other women join the ranks of the most powerful supervisory boards: ThyssenKrupp Supervisory Board Chairman Martina Merz, ProSiebenSat1 inspector Marion Helmes and former BASF manager Margret Suckale have made it into the top 25 in a current ranking. This is gratifying, especially as the rise shows: More and more women occupy central positions within the committees. The quota of women …