Metro: Haniel’s top post in the Supervisory Board from – SPIEGEL ONLINE

At the retail group Metro there is a change at the helm of the Supervisory Board. The family holding company Haniel withdraws from the top post of the supervisory body and thereby gives a lot of power from. Clan representatives Franz Markus Haniel wants to give up his position as chairman of the board to the next Annual General Meeting in February 2016 illustrate how the Metro announced. The successor to Jürgen Steinemann compete. The 56-year-old is currently head of the world’s biggest chocolate and cocoa manufacturer Barry Callebaut, this post will but give up the end of September.

Haniel had the fate of Metro played a decisive role. To the group also includes Media-Saturn and the supermarket chain Real. The family holding company Haniel wants to become more independent from trading and has its Metro share of 34 percent degraded steadily. By 2020, the Haniel’s share of Metro is expected to shrink to around 20 percent.

Born in 1955, Franz Markus Haniel is since April 2012 Chairman of the Supervisory Board and held this office already held from 2007 to 2010. Now he wanted to “open up the possibility that the Supervisory Board presided over goes into the hands of an independent, external representative”, Haniel said. The family holding but will not completely reject Metro: “The history of the Metro and the house Haniel is connected closely for over 50 years, which will not change in the future,” said the outgoing chairman of the board. Haniel will stay long term shareholder, he promised

In addition to Haniel families Schmidt-Ruthenbeck and Beisheim major shareholders in Metro are -. They hold over 15 and just over nine per cent of the voting rights

. stake in Metro was for Haniel in the past is not always a money-maker. Metro rose 2012 starting from Dax, in 2012 Haniel also had a net loss of approximately EUR 1.9 billion cards. Around EUR 1.2 billion of which resulted at that time solely from amortization of the Metro investment.