• Short-term management changes in 2022
• Some former bosses returned to their posts
• High-profile takeovers
The change in management at the DAX industrial group Linde, where Sanjiv Lamba took over from Steve Angel on March 1, 2022, was already announced in 2021. Also planned and, according to the company, delayed due to the pandemic, was the change at the top of American Airlines: Robert Isom took over the post of CEO from Doug Parker on March 31, 2022.
Oliver Blume becomes CEO of the VW Group
According to an evaluation by Unicepta, which the FAZ published, Porsche boss Oliver Blume, who was appointed new CEO of the VW Group on September 1, had the greatest media presence among the DAX bosses in 2022. In recent years, too, the VW boss was the “most respected manager in the country,” as the FAZ writes, and this year Porsche AG went public. Blume surprisingly took over the post from Herbert Diess at the top of the VW Group and has been active in a dual role ever since. Blume consistently wants to restructure the group, and he is said to have radically changed or even discontinued some of his predecessor’s projects: According to dpa-AFX, Blume, who has been traded as the “crown prince” for a long time, is considered a “highly talented manager” and especially compared to his predecessor Diess, as an approachable team player. The expectations of the new boss are high: Blume should bring calm to the group and “take the workforce with him,” as a mobility expert told the daily news. Due to the global economic and geopolitical circumstances, Oliver Blume postponed the planning or budget round, which is usually scheduled for November, to spring 2023. However, this is not a cause for concern, but rather due to the long planning cycles. According to Blume, Porsche’s IPO serves as a model for increasing the stock market value of the entire group.
Chair backs at German companies
The management changes at adidas and PUMA also caused surprises: Arne Freundt will become the new managing director and CEO of PUMA, while his predecessor in office, Björn Gulden, will switch to competitor adidas. Gulden takes over the adidas head position from the formerly celebrated manager Kasper Rorsted, who recently caused numerous negative headlines.
At the helm of the media company ProSiebenSat.1, Rainer Beaujean resigned from his position as CEO after less than a year. His successor, Bert Habets, took over on November 1st. In addition to internal problems, one of his biggest challenges will be positioning himself vis-à-vis the major shareholder and Berlusconi company Media for Europe.
At competitor RTL, Stephan Schmitter has been responsible for all content and brands, including brand & marketing, from RTL Germany since November. His predecessor in office, Henning Tewes, moved to a management position at RTL Group.
At the DAX company Fresenius, Michael Sen took over the helm on October 1, 2022 from Stephan Sturm, who left early. The former Siemens manager is now supposed to bring a breath of fresh air to the Fresenius subsidiaries – clinic operator Helios and dialysis specialist FMC.
Stefan Hoops became head of the Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS in the summer, Christoph Husman took over the top position at ENCAVIS and Sander van der Laan replaced Tina Müller at the perfumery chain Douglas on November 1st. According to a report by FOCUS online, Erwin Müller returned to the top of his drugstore chain Müller at the age of 90, probably the oldest CEO, after dismissing Günther Helm as managing director.
At the chemical company BASF, a change in management is unlikely until 2024, Martin Brudermüller has extended his contract until the 2024 Annual General Meeting. Until then, as the Handelsblatt writes, a generational change on the board should be prepared.
Disney: Bob Iger returns to the helm of the media giant
Bob Iger recently returned to Disney. Iger was already CEO of the media giant until 2020. After Bob Chapek surprisingly left – his contract was extended early in the summer – the 71-year-old Bob Iger is now supposed to get Disney back on track and apparently also develop a potential successor.
Twitter takeover by Elon Musk
The headlines about the Twitter takeover of Tesla boss Elon Musk don’t stop. The constant back and forth during the takeover of the short message service was followed by the restructuring of Twitter, described in many media as destructive chaos, and the withdrawal from the stock exchange floor: mass layoffs, compliance with disinformation rules, loss of important advertising customers, etc. Elon Musk himself has not recently filed for bankruptcy excluded.
In addition, Visa with Ryan McInerney, Pinterest with Bill Ready and Dell Tim van Wasen also received new CEOs.
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