The experienced post manager could soon move to the top of the Telekom supervisory board.
(Photo: dpa)
Düsseldorf, Berlin At Deutsche Telekom, the incumbent CEO of Deutsche Post, Frank Appel, has become a favorite for the post of chief inspector. At a meeting of the board of directors on December 15, a preliminary decision could be made, confirmed five people familiar with the processes to the Handelsblatt.
The supervisory board should follow the suggestion of the top committee and then propose him for election to the committee at the general meeting on April 7th. He would then take over the chairmanship from Ulrich Lehner after the shareholders’ meeting started. Both Deutsche Post and Deutsche Telekom declined to comment.
From the perspective of those involved, Appel has the necessary wealth of experience to lead the Telekom Supervisory Board. As Chairman of the Board of Management of Swiss Post, he heads an international corporation. He is also familiar with regulated markets and knows how to move about in politics. The German state is the largest single shareholder in Post and Telekom.
Lehner’s successor is one of the most discussed HR issues in the German economy. Lehner himself had been looking for candidates for a long time after ex-BMW boss Harald Krüger, who was originally intended for this position, withdrew.
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In addition to Appel, Margret Suckale was also under discussion as a candidate. In contrast to Appel, she is already a member of the Telekom supervisory board. However, the 65-year-old controls the supervisory boards of Infineon, Heidelberg Cement and the DWS Group. With four positions, the former HR director of Deutsche Bahn and BASF is adequately covered with work, as it was said in the group.
Deutsche Post would have to look for a successor for Appel
According to insiders, Appel is expected to have significantly better chances of getting the post as chief inspector at Telekom. Suckale was brought into play by representatives of the employee bank as a possible successor for Ulrich Lehner.
The former McKinsey consultant Appel is still in the middle of his professional life, which should not be an obstacle. His contract runs until October 2022. So far, he has left it unclear whether he is aiming for an extension. If he takes on the position of chief inspector at Telekom, Swiss Post would probably have to look for a new CEO.
Supervising Deutsche Telekom is labor-intensive. With the CEO Timotheus Höttges, the group has an ambitious manager at the top who wants to fundamentally change the structure of the Bonn company. Höttges is looking for possible takeover targets in order to position Telekom more strongly.
From the point of view of some inspectors, the future chairman of the supervisory board should be a counterweight to the self-confident Höttges. He does not see his job in the service of Telekom as finished: Actually, the contract of the Telekom boss runs until the end of 2023. However, talks are already underway about an early contract extension for Höttges, as the Handelsblatt learned.
Under the leadership of the Telekom boss, the group is experiencing a profound transformation.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Höttges had indicated that he was aiming for another term of office. Several members of the Supervisory Board had spoken out in favor of Höttges continuing to stabilize business in the USA and at the same time developing a vision for Telekom in Europe.
The USA currently accounts for more than 60 percent of Telekom’s consolidated sales. An extension is usually discussed around a year before the end of a term. An extension would come unusually early for Höttges.
Höttges has been working closely with the incumbent chief inspector Ulrich Lehner for years. The former Henkel boss Lehner has been on the Telekom Supervisory Board since 2008. In March 2009, Höttges was promoted to Telekom’s top management as CFO. He has been chairman of the supervisory board since the end of 2013.
Appel, in turn, has a closer relationship with another member of the Telekom board of directors: Appel studied chemistry with incumbent CFO Christian Illek in the 1980s at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich.
More: Deutsche Telekom wants to name the new chairman of the supervisory board before Christmas