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Deutz Fires Chairman After Clash With Supervisory Board

Deutz Fires Chairman After Clash With Supervisory Board

Deutz AG fired its chairman of the management board, Frank Hiller, because of what the German engine company said were irreconcilable differences with the supervisory board. Chief Financial Officer Sebastian Schulte will take over the role. 

“There was just no common ground anymore,” investor relations chief Christian Ludwig said in an interview on Saturday. “Working together in the future wouldn’t be possible.”

Rather than a difference in strategic management style, Ludwig said there were “some specific issues” but declined to give more details. “It was not about the direction of the company,” he said.

Deutz Fires Chairman After Clash With Supervisory Board

In another significant change at the Cologne-based engine supplier, former Audi executive Dietmar Voggenreiter replaced Bernd Bohr as chairman of the supervisory board. 

Hiller had been in his post for five years, presiding over a period of increased revenue but declining profitability before the pandemic hit.

Since a recent peak in September, shares in the company have slumped 30%. In contrast, the CDAX Index, which tracks all companies traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, fell 2.7% during the same period. 

Ludwig said the falling stock price had “nothing to do” with the board’s decision to oust Hiller. 

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.