Sunday 5 December 2021
Höttges . extension
Apple takes over as chairman of the board to lead Telekom’s supervisory board
After months of searching, a decision was made to succeed Lehner, head of Telecom’s supervisory board. The CEO of Deutsche Post will lead the supervisory body of the neighboring group in Bonn.
According to one report, the current CEO of Deutsche Post, Frank Appel, has become the preferred candidate for the position of chief inspector at Deutsche Telekom. As reported by Handelsblatt, citing five people familiar with the operations, a preliminary decision could be made at a meeting of the supervisory body on December 15. Both Deutsche Post and Deutsche Telekom declined to comment on the newspaper.
The Supervisory Board must follow up on the proposal of the Higher Committee and then propose to elect it in the general meeting of the Committee on April 7. He is said to then take over the presidency from Ulrich Lehner. For a long time, former BMW Chairman Harald Krüger was circulated as the preferred candidate to head the supervisory board of the still state-owned Telekom Group. However, Krueger reportedly withdrew.
Handelsblatt reports from the participants’ perspective that Appel has a wealth of experience needed to lead Telekom’s supervisory board. As Chairman of the Swiss Post Board, he heads an international company, is familiar with regulated markets and knows how to move in politics. The German state is the largest single shareholder in Post and Telekom, with their corporate headquarters located in close proximity to each other in Bonn.
At the same time, there are talks about an early extension of the contract of Telekom CEO, Timotheus Höttges. The Telekom president’s contract actually runs until the end of 2023. But several members of the Supervisory Board have indicated their agreement for another term, Handelsblatt continues.