Generational change at the top

DEKRA realigns Supervisory Board and Board of Management

At their regular meetings on April 6, 2022, the Executive Board of DEKRA e.V. and the Supervisory Board of DEKRA SE decided on a forward-looking realignment of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of the auditing group with immediate effect. The current CEO Stefan Kölbl will head the highest supervisory bodies of DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE in the future. This means that an industry expert with over 25 years of experience in the TIC (Testing, Inspection, Certification) sector will take over the chairmanship of the supervisory bodies. Stan Zurkiewicz will take over the operational management of the Group as Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DEKRA e.V./SE. The new CEO was Head of Asia for many years and most recently Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company. The long-standing President of the Presidential Council and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Thomas Pleines, is stepping down after a successful career.

 

• Thomas Pleines (66) resigns from the Supervisory Board
• Stefan Kölbl (54) moves to the highest supervisory body of DEKRA e.V. as President of the Presidential Council and takes over as Chairman of the DEKRA SE Supervisory Board
• Stan Zurkiewicz (42) is appointed Chairman of the Board of Management of DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE
• Wolfgang Linsenmaier (56) and Ulrike Hetzel (49) complete the Management Board team

Pleines, who has been active on various DEKRA committees since December 2000 and has chaired both the Presidential Council of DEKRA e.V. and the Supervisory Board of DEKRA SE since May 2011, intends to devote more time to his personal interests in future. Due to his extraordinary services, he was awarded the title of “Honorary President” by the Presidential Council at the end of his term of office. He will thus remain firmly associated with the company. Thomas Pleines: “I would like to thank the Executive Committee, the Supervisory Board and Stefan Kölbl in particular for the decades of trusting and successful cooperation. It fills me with satisfaction and pride that we can now realize both continuity and change in top management. This guarantees the continuation of our 20-year success story and sets the course for the challenges of digital transformation.

Kölbl is one of the most experienced CEOs in the industry and will head DEKRA's supervisory bodies in the future.
Stefan Kölbl: “With the DEKRA Strategy 2025 strategy program - including the strategic focus on technical and digital safety plus sustainability services - we have created a powerful foundation for the coming years.My special thanks go to Thomas Pleines for his many years of excellent cooperation, and I wish him all the best for the next stage of his life.”

Since Kölbl took over as CEO in 2010, DEKRA has almost tripled its enterprise value to date.
In the same period, turnover has more than doubled to 3.5 billion euros, earnings have increased by 130 percent and the number of employees has grown from around 22,000 (end of 2009) to around 46,500 in 2021. In addition, the company's international focus has been significantly accelerated:
The DEKRA Group is now active in over 60 countries on 5 continents worldwide.

As part of this change, the Executive Board team will be reduced from four to three positions.In addition to the operational business in the regions, Stan Zurkiewicz will be responsible for Marketing & Sales, Group Strategy and Development and Group Communications.Zurkiewicz: “I will be delighted to take on this great challenge. 
Strategy 2025 and our digital agenda have set the course for future growth. We will proactively tackle the further digitalization of our service program and, above all, continue to develop our presence in the North American and Asian markets as a priority.”

Wolfgang Linsenmaier, who remains Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE and is responsible for the qualitative development and performance of the Group, is expanding his area of responsibility to include the areas of legal and compliance, auditing and change management. Ulrike Hetzel, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of DEKRA SE, will continue to be responsible for the strategic development of the service divisions, innovation management and global IT.

At the annual press conference in three weeks at the end of the Kölbl era, DEKRA SE will present excellent key figures with new record figures for 2021, demonstrating a high level of entrepreneurial resilience in the coronavirus crisis.Kölbl: “This is a very good time for the change.I wish the entire Management Board continued success and a lucky hand in managing the company. 
In future, I will make greater use of my entrepreneurial freedom and set new personal priorities. My thanks go to all 46,500 DEKRA employees worldwide, without whom we would not have achieved this great development.”

Source: https://www.dekra.de/de/generationenwechsel-an-der-spitze/