Breidenbach and the shareholders’ committee have agreed to terminate the current management contract. Shortly before, the group was taken over by the supplier Faurecia.
(Photo: Hella)
Dusseldorf Hella boss Rolf Breidenbach resigned from his position in the middle of the year following the takeover by the French automotive supplier Faurecia. The manager and the shareholders’ committee had mutually agreed on the end of the managing director’s contract on June 30, the Lippstadt-based automotive supplier announced on Friday.
“With Faurecia as Hella’s new majority shareholder, the path to a successful future has now been paved,” said Breidenbach, who has been in office for more than 18 years. A decision on his successor should be made in the near future. Faurecia completed the majority takeover of the MDax-listed headlamp specialist at the end of January and has held 80.6 percent since then.
It has been known for a long time that there will be no dual leadership after the merger of Hella and Faurecia. In August, Faurecia boss Koller indicated to the Handelsblatt that there would only be one CEO in the merged company.
In the bidding competition for Hella, Mahle was also seen as a promising candidate. CEO Jörg Stratmann left the piston specialist in March 2021, and CFO Michael Frick took over the position on an interim basis. If Hella were taken over by Mahle, Breidenbach would have had a good chance of becoming CEO of the merged company, according to company circles at the time. The deal did not materialize because the family that owns Hella opted for Faurecia, the larger bidder in terms of sales.
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Breidenbach came to Hella in 2004 from the strategy consultancy McKinsey. He was the supplier’s first non-family CEO. Breidenbach’s management style consisted of a mixture of strict cost discipline and, at the same time, high expenditures for research and development.
Faurecia boss praises Breidenbach
Until 2017, he shared responsibility for the group with Jürgen Behrend, the personally liable partner of the former owner family. In the end, it was also Behrend who engineered the deal with Faurecia for the Hueck and Röpke families.
The two companies would complement each other “excellently,” Breidenbach said at the time he announced his departure. “It was therefore particularly important to me to prepare for the integration as best as possible. This milestone has now been reached,” says the 59-year-old.
Faurecia boss Patrick Koller said he could understand the decision. Breidenbach leave “an extremely well tilled field”. “In particular, we would like to thank Mr. Breidenbach for the close and constructive cooperation over the past few months. We will continue this trusting cooperation without restrictions until his departure,” Koller continues.
Warm farewell words were also spoken by Carl-Peter Forster, Chairman of the Hella Shareholders’ Committee. “In his role as CEO, Dr. Breidenbach has significantly advanced the development of the company over the past 18 years and has excellently positioned Hella as one of the world’s leading suppliers of lighting technology and automotive electronics. We owe him our greatest thanks for these services,” Forster is quoted as saying in a statement from the group.
However, Breidenbach will not part with Hella-Faurecia entirely. It is planned that the manager will continue to be available to the merged group in an advisory capacity after his departure.
With agency material.
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