The Henkel Management Board member has developed his division well.
(Photo: Henkel)
Dusseldorf In the press release about his departure, Jan-Dirk Auris himself does not have a say. Persil and Pritt manufacturer Henkel announced on Friday evening that Adhesives Board Member Auris will leave the company at the end of January 2023. His contract would not have expired until the end of 2023. Officially, Henkel speaks of a “joint decision”.
According to Handelsblatt research, however, Auris is not leaving the Dax group voluntarily, as reported on Friday. In company and industry circles it is said that there was a power struggle between Auris and CEO Carsten Knobel, which is now obviously escalating. The two top managers even argued in board meetings.
A company insider describes the situation as one tried to get rid of the other in order to remain without alternative. Henkel does not comment on this. It is striking, however, that in the press release neither CEO Knobel nor Supervisory Board Chairman Simone Bagel-Trah express their regret about the end of Auris’ career at Henkel.
Adhesives Board Member since 2011
One thing is clear: the traditional Düsseldorf company had no economic reason to part with the top manager. He has “achieved a great deal”, the chief inspector Bagel-Trah is also quoted as saying. The 54-year-old Auris has led the group’s most successful and highest-margin division while the consumer goods business is lagging behind its peers.
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The area of adhesives, called Adhesive Technologies, accounts for half of the Group’s sales and 60 percent of its profits. “Auris has a pretty good reputation in the market,” says one analyst. The division has developed very well under his leadership. The adhesives business has been Henkel’s growth driver for years. In the consumer goods sector, Henkel recently sold fewer products, and the recent increase in sales here can be explained solely by price increases.
>> Read more: Dispute escalates on the Henkel board – Auris has to go
Auris was appointed head of the division in 2011. Since then, Henkel’s sales of adhesives and coatings have increased by 31 percent, and the division’s profit has soared by 66 percent. The EBIT of Henkel’s consumer goods business increased by only a third during the same period. Auris had cleverly strengthened its division through acquisitions and invested heavily in innovations. It is also thanks to him that Henkel is by far the leader in the industry with a market share of 17 percent.
The manager has spent his entire working life at Henkel. He began his career in 1987 with an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk and, after positions as a key account manager and sales manager in Germany, rose to positions of increasing responsibility in North America and Asia and then at the beginning of 2011 to become a member of the board. According to company circles, Auris was very popular and valued among employees.
The dispute with CEO Knobel can also be explained by power issues. Both Knobel and Auris were said to have ambitions for the executive chair when Hans Van Bylen left as CEO at the end of 2019. Knobel was awarded the contract, and despite its economic success, Auris was left behind. Since then, the dispute between the two men is said to have smoldered. Auris is described by industry insiders as emotional, he is said to have behaved little diplomatically in the debates.
successor still unclear
It is still unclear who will follow in Auris’ footsteps. According to Handelsblatt information from industry circles, the group has already commissioned a personnel consultancy to look for a successor. Henkel does not comment on this. Auris is said to have developed two internal successors itself, says an insider. Both should not get the post but apparently.
>> Read more: After the dispute at Henkel, the head of the supervisory board should also question herself
Auris’ predecessor Thomas Geitner was also an external solution, having previously worked at Vodafone and RWE. Geitner only lasted three years as head of the adhesives division. According to media reports, there was also a rift with the then Henkel boss Kasper Rorsted.
No easy task awaits Auris’ successor: he has to defend Henkel’s position against the competition. The adhesives industry is considered a growth market because adhesives will replace other materials such as screws in many industries in the future and the use of adhesives is becoming more important, especially in the field of e-mobility.
After 35 years at Henkel and twelve of them on the board, Auris will find it difficult to reposition itself. The manager held back publicly, only rarely gave interviews and does not sit on any supervisory board. From a financial point of view, however, Auris can rest easy: According to group reports, his total remuneration in 2021 was around five million euros, in 2020 it was 3.2 million euros.
More: Persil and Pril have become more expensive – Henkel is increasing its sales by almost double digits