People

HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA:

What name do you find first when you search for HELLA on google? German readers will know. It is the German comedian Hella von Sinnen. Is this a coincidence, or is it an allusion to the upheaval due to the recent changes in the shareholder structure?

Anyhow, this announcement also fits into the picture. On 4 February, HELLA announced that the shareholders´ committee of HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA has agreed with the Chairman of the Management Board, Dr. Rolf Breidenbach, to terminate his contract as Managing Director by mutual consent as of 30 June 2022. It was further agreed that Dr. Breidenbach will support the de facto group (Faurecia/HELLA) and a consultancy agreement which is still to be negotiated.

Ups, no thanks, not even kind words, just contract termination. A closer look at the costs, both financial and otherwise, is almost inevitable when looking at this announcement.

Deutz AG: Deutz received a wake-up call

Denying facts is not a good business practice. Instead, something like this can have dire consequences for the management, the company, and the owners. Recently, the board of directors, the supervisory board of Deutz AG, and shareholders also had to experience this.

On 12 February 2022, the company announced that the Chairman of the Board of Management, Dr. Frank Hiller, was dismissed from the Board by the Supervisory Board, with immediate effect. The CFO Dr. Sebastian Schulte took over his duties with immediate effect. The vacancy on the Board of Management shall be filled by a female member following the second German Act on Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions. In addition, the Supervisory Board elected Dr. Dietmar Voggenreiter as the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The previous chairman, Dr. Bernd Bohr, has resigned from his position with immediate effect and will continue to serve as an ordinary member of the Board.

Yesterday is over. Nice, that this was also noticed in Cologne.