Thyssenkrupp appoints new CFO and expands Management Board
The industrial group Thyssenkrupp has found a successor for its outgoing CFO Klaus Keysberg. The Supervisory Board has appointed Jens Schulte as the new Chief Financial Officer, the company announced in Essen on Wednesday. Schulte currently holds the position at Schott AG. The change is expected to take place in the second half of the financial year, it said. Keysberg had already announced in September that he would not be renewing his contract.
In addition, thyssenkrupp is expanding its Executive Board, which currently consists of three members. Volkmar Dinstuhl, most recently head of the now dissolved Multi Tracks segment and responsible for sourcing and sales projects, will also be appointed to the Executive Board as of January 1, as will Ilse Henne. The manager is currently on the Management Board of the Trading division. All new contracts are for three years.
Employee representatives sharply criticized the expansion of the Management Board. For the first time in the company's history, board members have been appointed despite the unanimous rejection of the employee side, according to a statement published by IG Metall.
According to Thyssenkrupp, the appointment is intended to focus the Executive Board more strongly on operational performance and the further development of the portfolio. Previously, the board had covered the three cross-divisional functions of strategy, human resources and finance. The realignment also means that the divisions of thyssenkrupp will in future be assigned to individual members of the Executive Board. The new CEO Miguel López will be responsible for the steel business and the new Decarbon Technologies division, Dinstuhl for Automotive Technology, Henne for the trading business and Oliver Burkhard for Marine Systems.
In its press release, the employee bank spoke of a "cultural break in co-determination" and a "turning point". The shareholders and the new CEO López had broken with the tried and tested co-determination practice at thyssenkrupp. This will leave its mark and permanently damage the previously balanced and constructive dialog in the Supervisory Board. Going it alone against the entire bank of employees shows that the shareholders are no longer interested in a resilient cooperation with the employee side. The employees' side is particularly critical of the fact that the expansion of the Management Board contradicts the ongoing savings programs. "Even a dozen board members will not be able to run this company against its own employees. Preaching water and drinking wine will not lead to success," they said.
Former boss Martina Merz had organized Thyssenkrupp as a "Group of Companies", in which the divisions operated independently and Thyssenkrupp functioned more as a holding company. In recent years, however, the Group has made rather hesitant progress with the further development of its businesses and has mainly attracted attention through sales, such as the elevator division. As the "Handelsblatt" reported on Wednesday, citing informed circles, López hopes to gain better access to the business through more centralized management of the segments. The aim is to significantly reduce costs through the cost-cutting programs that have been introduced.
Thyssenkrupp slipped deep into the red in the last financial year 2022/23 (as at the end of September) and had to write down billions on the currently weakening steel business. Thyssenkrupp is preparing a partial sale of the volatile division, which is suffering from the difficult economic environment. Thyssenkrupp recently made talks with the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky public. The latter is said to have put on the brakes recently, Handelsblatt reported. He had made it clear that he saw no time pressure, the report said, citing company circles.
In addition, Thyssenkrupp has further restructuring measures in mind: For example, the Group is aiming to spin off Marine Systems. In addition, it has been looking for partners or new owners for parts of the plant engineering and automotive supply business for some time.
Thyssenkrupp's steel business, a significant part of the industry, is currently facing challenging economic conditions and potential partial sale discussions. The defense industry, recognizing the importance of advanced materials like steel, might express interest in acquiring or investing in this division to enhance their own capabilities.
With the appointment of Volkmar Dinstuhl and Ilse Henne to the Executive Board, Thyssenkrupp's car division and trading business could potentially see an increase in focus and investment, especially considering the defense industry's potential interest in the steel sector.
Source: www.dpa.com
