In his more than 15 years as head of the general works council Volkswagen Bernd Osterloh (66) hardly ever avoided a dispute with the top management. In May 2021 he then made a remarkable move to the “other side”: As head of human resources, he moved to the board of directors Traton SE a. There had always been rumors that Osterloh could one day join the board of directors at Volkswagen. Specifically, it was the end of his career at the commercial vehicle holding company, under whose umbrella brands such as MAN, Scania and Navistar are bundled. Volkswagen holds the majority of a Traton.
For Osterloh, what will probably be the final episode in his career will soon be history: on April 1, he will be leaving the Traton board, even though he still has a year longer contract. manager magazin learned this from business circles. In the meantime, the group has confirmed the personnel.
There are said to have been differences between Osterloh and CEO Christian Levin (56). Levin, who is also head of Scania, wants to control Traton more from Sweden, while Osterloh is an advocate of Germany as a location. The supervisory board around the chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch (71) now supported Levin and equipped the CEO with a new 5-year contract until January 2029.
Osterloh’s farewell is the most prominent, but not the only one, on the Traton board. CFO Annette Danielski (57) is also leaving the company. There will be a common successor for her and Osterloh: Michael Jackstein, most recently Pötsch’s office manager, will become both finance and HR manager at the truck manufacturer.
Catharina Modahl Nilsson moves up to the board
Nevertheless, Traton’s board of directors should continue to consist of six people in the future. To this end, the Supervisory Board is creating a new department for “Global Product Management”. Catharina Modahl Nilsson (59) will be in charge. She has been Chief Technology Officer at Traton since January 2022 and will continue in her role as a member of the Management Board.
In addition to Levin, Latin America boss Antonio Roberto Cortes (57) will also receive a contract extension. Cortes gets three more years until January 2027. MAN boss Alexander Vlaskamp (51) and Navistar CEO Mathias Carlbaum (50) complete the board.
Traton had the highest turnover in history at 40.3 billion euros last year. Thanks to the Navistar takeover, good aftersales business and higher sales prices, the group grew by almost a third compared to 2021. Adjusted operating profit last year was 2.1 billion euros. However, incoming orders weakened: they shrank by 7 percent compared to 2021.
Nevertheless, CEO Levin is aiming for another record result in 2023. Sales and turnover are each expected to increase by between 5 and 15 percent, with return on sales increasing to 6 to 7 percent. Traton relies on robust commercial vehicle markets, improved parts supply and more cost discipline.
The framework remained the own brands, Levin said recently when presenting the balance sheet for 2022. But they would have to work better together in the future. Above all, there is no spark between the yield pearl Scania and MAN, which has been making losses for many years. Bernd Osterloh also failed to mediate decisively between the camps. In the future, Michael Jackstein may try it. An “extended truck board” should help. MAN Purchasing Manager
Murat Aksel, Navistar production manager Stefan Palmgren and Scania’s chief developer Anders Williamsson will support the Traton board “in operational and strategic matters”.