The Hamburg trading and services group Otto Group is facing a long-planned change in management. On March 1st, Benjamin Otto becomes chairman of the board of trustees and shareholders. He succeeds his father Michael Otto. The 82-year-old is giving up his remaining positions in the company after 55 years. The group had already announced the generation change almost two years ago.
“I am very pleased that Benjamin is now taking on the main responsibility and am very confident that with his entrepreneurial skills he will lead the Otto Group into a good future economically and in a value-oriented manner,” explained Michael Otto in a statement.
Benjamin Otto has been working for the Otto Group for more than ten years
Benjamin Otto has many years of experience in the group. After setting up several companies himself, he joined the group in 2012 and took over the management of the e-commerce start-up Collins. This gave rise to the online fashion retailer About You, which was taken over by Berlin competitor Zalando SE last year.
Since mid-2015, Benjamin Otto has also been a member and managing partner in the shareholder council of the Otto Group and deputy chairman of the board of trustees of the Michael Otto Foundation, the majority owner of the Otto Group. As chairman of the two committees, he will take over the “strategic leadership” of the entire group in the future.
In a statement published on Tuesday, the 50-year-old outlined his vision for the Otto Group. “My heart beats for entrepreneurship and I am convinced that, together with a strong, diverse management team and our motivated employees, we will develop the Otto Group into a fully digitalized, AI and tech-defined and integrated group that not only lives up to its social responsibility, but also serves as a benchmark for sustainable trade,” he explained. “It is particularly important to me that long-term success and sustainable impact continue to take precedence over short-term profit, in keeping with the family tradition.”
The change in leadership is accompanied by further personnel changes in the group’s supervisory bodies. Elisabeth L’Orange, Florian Heinemann and Benjamin Schaper will join the shareholders’ council from March 1st, from which “the strategic goals of the group of companies will be formulated and controlled” in the future. The previous board members Sergio Bucher and Janina Lin Otto will take over seats on the supervisory board, of which Michael Otto will remain honorary chairman.
