Dusseldorf Shortly after the stock market closed, Continental dropped the bomb: completely surprisingly, the automotive supplier deposed its long-time CFO Wolfgang Schäfer on Wednesday evening. The supervisory board agreed to the immediate termination of Schäfer’s management contract in an extraordinary meeting of the supervisory board that was scheduled at short notice.
Schäfer’s resignation “is in connection with the already known investigations by the Hanover public prosecutor’s office into the use of illegal defeat devices in diesel engines and deficits in the ongoing investigation at Continental,” said Conti. Together with Schäfer, Christian zur Nedden, Head of the Compliance Department, is also giving up his post. However, zur Nedden remains in the group until a successor is found for him.
From the group it is said that deficits in the internal investigation were decisive for Schäfer’s expulsion. As CFO, Schäfer was also responsible for the compliance and legal department, which deals with the investigation of the public prosecutor’s investigations. Here, the allegations were not followed up with the necessary consistency, it is said from corporate circles. It is unclear whether the internal reconnaissance was actively delayed. In Frankfurt late trading, the Conti papers lost around seven percent.
The investigators had searched the auto supplier’s offices several times in the past. According to earlier statements, the investigation concerned a 1.6-liter diesel engine developed by VW, for which Conti had supplied the engine management system.
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“We are resolving the present issue consistently and in full and are cooperating wholeheartedly with the Hanover public prosecutor’s office. In accordance with our zero tolerance philosophy, we investigate every suspicion, ”said Conti’s chairman of the supervisory board, Wolfgang Reitzle, after the meeting.
Surprisingly tough formulations
It is noticeable that there is no word of thanks for Schäfer in the group’s announcement. After all, the 62-year-old was Conti’s CFO for eleven years. In the early days after the failed takeover by Schaeffler, he freed the group from its immense debt burden and stabilized it financially. In the past two years, Schäfer had to prove himself again as a crisis manager after the group had initially carried out far-reaching structural measures including downsizing. Later came the financially stressful challenges of the corona and chip crisis.
Even the words of CEO Nikolai Setzer do not cast Schäfer in a good light. “Integrity is an integral part of our corporate culture and anchored in our code of conduct that applies worldwide and for all Continental companies. Because we win with fair means, ”said Setzer.
Those in the know about the company are surprised by this harsh formulation. “I know Mr. Schäfer as a particularly honest, fair and, above all, very meticulous manager when it comes to legal issues,” says an insider.
It is also controversial which legal risks Conti is still exposed to with regard to the diesel investigations. Because the investigations have focused on the former drive division of Conti. And that was split off this year under the company name Vitesco.
The only thing that is clear is that Schäfer is the third manager who was on the board under Setzer’s predecessor Elmar Degenhart, and has to leave the company. The departures of Helmut Matschi and Frank Jourdan have already been decided. The two board members of Contis Automotive-Einheit will leave the group at the end of the year. That leaves only Christian Kötz, Tire Board Member, and Ariane Reinhart, Head of Human Resources, who already held positions on the Board of Management during Degenhart’s time.
On the other hand, Setzer now has more work to do. With the departure of Matschi and Jourdan, the Conti boss was already responsible for the automotive business. In addition, with the sacking of Schäfer, he is now making clearing up the diesel investigations a top priority. “With immediate effect, we will make the Group Compliance and Group Law and Intellectual Property divisions subject to my direct responsibility and fill them again below board level,” Setzer announced.
Until Schäfer’s successor has been settled, Katja Dürrfeld, currently Head of Finance, Controlling and Information Technology in the ContiTech business unit, will temporarily take over the management of Group Finance and Controlling and Group Information Technology and in this role will report to Nikolai Setzer.
More: Prosecutor extends diesel investigation against Continental