Who follows Manfred Bischoff as supervisory board chief executive at Daimler? The incumbent can imagine an internal solution and sees CEO Dieter Zetsche as a possible successor.
Soeren Stache / dpa
Manfred Bischoff (left) and Dieter Zetsche in March before the Annual General Meeting of Daimler AG in Berlin
Monday, 17.04.2017
11:32 clock
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche would in the opinion of Supervisory Board Chairman Manfred Bischoff a suitable successor to the post of chief inspector. “That would be a possibility,” Bischoff said. “However, the general meeting is responsible for the election to the Supervisory Board.”
Zetsches contract expires in 2019. Bischoff is elected for the position until 2021. That would fit well: the rules for good corporate governance provide for a two-year break before a board of directors may change to the supervisory board.
Bischoff also came from the Daimler Group
Bischoff was the first Daimler chief inspector who came from the group. “It has significant advantages if the chairman of the supervisory board knows the company,” he says. Because there are at least eight people on the employee side who are familiar with the company in detail. “By demanding that the chairman be completely independent, we are destroying the information balance between the employee and the shareholder.”
Bischoff and Zetsche have both been working for the Group since 1976. “Our relationship is very open,” says Bischoff. “That’s a lot easier.” But it is also clear that the roles change when you come to the Supervisory Board. “I do not interfere in the operational business, which is the responsibility of the Management Board,” Bischoff describes the cooperation. “And Dieter Zetsche fully respects the tasks of the Supervisory Board.