Kuehne + Nagel executive chairman Klaus-Michael Kuehne is set to step down from his position on the board of directors, upon which he will recommend Karl Gernandt as his successor. The move will be subject to shareholders’ approval at the company’s annual general meeting in May 2009.
Kuehne is also set to relinquish a series of other responsibilities to Gernandt as of 1st October 2008.
He will become board member of the Kuehne Foundation, Schindellegi, as well as managing director of the newly created Klaus-Michael Kuehne Foundation, which will encompass all of Kuehne’s sponsorships from his hometown of Hamburg.
In addition, he will be appointed president of the Logistics Center of Excellence GmbH, which will co-ordinate all donator activity in worldwide logistics research and education.
Kuehne said: “At the age of 71 I have decided to pass many of my responsibilities into younger hands… I am confident that Mr Gernandt’s proven leadership and advanced management capabilities will support my objective to sustain the continued growth, stability and independence of the Kuehne + Nagel Group.”
Gernandt is currently chief executive of the Holcim Western Europe Organisation, based in Brussels, after first joining the company in 2000 as CEO of Holcim (Deutschland) AG, Hamburg.
In his new role Gernandt will be based at offices in Hamburg, Germany and Schindellegi, Switzerland.
