Important decisions were made on three and two positions respectively on the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG.
At an extraordinary Supervisory Board meeting on April 07, 2022 the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG approved the proposal to expand the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG from May 1, 2022.
As Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Heike Denecke-Arnold will be responsible for the operating production areas and thus for the entire field from iron and steel production to the finishing stages as well as quality and logistics.
Increased challenges
The challenges are many: thyssenkrupp Steel’s 20-30 strategy focuses on the operating performance and strategic alignment of the steel business. In addition, the company is facing an unprecedented transformation: to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2045, massive changes in plant structure and operation are necessary. Successfully establishing climate-neutral production is crucial to the future viability and competitiveness of thyssenkrupp Steel. Against this background, the Supervisory Board resolved to expand the Executive Board team of the Steel segment to include the function of an operating director.
Experienced steel expert joins the Executive Board team
Responsibility for transformation and production will be divided in the future. Dr. Heike Denecke-Arnold has been responsible for production from the liquid phase to finishing, as well as quality and logistics, since May 1, 2022. The department thus becomes the driver of operational production performance in the company.
She holds a doctorate in engineering and has held various positions at thyssenkrupp since 1999, most recently since October 2016 at Precision Steel in Hohenlimburg as Chairwoman of the Management Board of thyssenkrupp Hohenlimburg GmbH. Thanks to her diverse experience within the Group, Dr. Denecke-Arnold has broad expertise, both in the production area and on the strategy, customer and market side.
Focus on Strategy 20-30, Transformation and Innovation
To reflect the importance of transformation, this is being bundled in a separate department. Dr. Arnd Köfler will be responsible for the optimization of the production network decided within Strategy 20-30 and for the entire decarbonization process of the Steel Division. Added to this is the Innovation unit, which brings together all research and development work. On this basis, an integrated innovation and transformation department is being created at thyssenkrupp Steel.
Early extension of the mandate of Markus Grolms
Furthermore, the Supervisory Board confirmed Markus Grolms as a member of the Executive Board and reappointed him as Labor Director and Chief Human Resources Officer until March 31, 2028. A key focus here in the coming years will be to accompany and manage the transformation from the labor directorate area
New members of the Supervisory Board
In connection with the regular reappointment and constitution of the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG, thyssenkrupp appointed Sigmar Gabriel (62) and Dr. Elke Eller (59) to the Board as shareholder representatives. The appointment was made by the Annual General Meeting of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG. They succeed Dr. Franz Bartscherer and Prof. Dr. Diethard Bergers, who resigned their mandates for personal reasons and left the Supervisory Board on April 7, 2022. Sigmar Gabriel was also elected by the newly constituted Supervisory Board as its new Chairman. Accordingly, Dr. Klaus Keysberg will be an ordinary member of the Supervisory Board in the future.
Martina Merz, Chairman of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp AG: “We remain convinced that the strategy of setting up the steel business independently opens up good prospects for the future – even if the concrete form of implementation must remain open for the moment due to the geopolitical situation. We also want to document the integrity of this process by appointing independent members to the Supervisory Board who have the trust of both sides of the montan co-determined steel company. In Sigmar Gabriel we have gained a very competent and experienced personality for the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG. In particular from his time as Federal Environment and Economics Minister he brings valuable experience which will be essential for the green transformation of thyssenkrupp Steel. We are therefore convinced that Sigmar Gabriel will not only be an excellent addition to the board but will also set clear priorities for the further development of the steel business. We look forward to working together in the new constellation. At the same time, we would like to thank Dr. Franz Bartscherer and Prof. Dr. Diethard Bergers for their great commitment over the past years.”
Sigmar Gabriel: “I thank you for your trust and am very much looking forward to the task ahead. The requirements of the green transformation present thyssenkrupp Steel, but also the entire industry, with a historic challenge. In the coming months and years we face landmark decisions with economic, industrial policy and environmental relevance. Accompanying us on this path is one of the most exciting tasks currently facing German industry. Nowhere can it be demonstrated as convincingly as in steel that economic success and sustainability in climate policy can be brought together in Germany. I am optimistic that the challenges of the green transformation can be met. I want to contribute to this in my role.”
Sigmar Gabriel can look back on a long political career. He was federal chairman of the SPD from 2009 to 2017 and vice chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 2013 to 2018. In 2005, Sigmar Gabriel was appointed Federal Minister for the Environment. In the years from 2013 to 2017, he held the post of Federal Minister of Economics, before taking over as Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018. Dr. Elke Eller was Chief Human Resources Officer at TUI AG from 2015 to 2021. Previously, she held various management positions at the Volkswagen Group, most recently as a member of the brand board of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. She is considered a proven expert in corporate transformation and is involved as an investor in various start-ups.