Management and control

Corporate governance

The KION Group follows generally accepted standards of sound, responsible corporate governance. The German Corporate Governance Code (DCGK) provides the framework for management and control. As required by section 289f and section 315d of the German Commercial Code (HGB), the corporate governance standards that the Group applies are set out in the declaration on corporate governance. This declaration also contains the comply-or-explain statement pursuant to section 161 AktG, which was issued by the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of KION GROUP AG on 3 / 12 December 2018, and the corporate governance report pursuant to section 3.10 of the German Corporate Governance Code, which also provides information about the compliance standards in the Group. The declaration on corporate governance can be viewed and downloaded on the Company’s website. It also forms part of this annual report and is a component of the combined management report.

The essential features of the remuneration system are described in the ‘Remuneration report’ section. The total amounts for Executive Board remuneration and Supervisory Board remuneration are also reported in the notes to the consolidated financial statements (note [46]).

Non-financial declaration

A separately published sustainability report provides detailed information on the sustainable management of the KION Group. It contains the KION Group’s non-financial declaration as required under the German law to implement the corporate social responsibility (CSR) directive. The declaration focuses on targets, action steps and due diligence processes relating to the key environmental, social and employee-related aspects of the KION Group’s business model, the observation of human rights and the fight against corruption and bribery.

In accordance with the statutory disclosure deadlines defined in section 325 HGB, the KION Group publishes its annual sustainability report (including the non-financial report) by no later than the end of April each year on its website, where it will remain available for at least ten years.

Executive Board

The Executive Board of KION GROUP AG is responsible for the operational management of the KION Group. In the year under review, the Executive Board was extended from four to five members and the following personnel changes were made:

  • Anke Groth was appointed as a member of the Group’s Executive Board and as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for a term of five years beginning 1 June 2018. Ms Groth also assumed the role of Labour Relations Director. She replaced Dr Thomas Toepfer, who had left the Company at his own request on 31 March 2018.
  • Susanna Schneeberger was appointed as a member of the Group’s Executive Board for a term of five years beginning 1 October 2018. She took on the newly created role of Chief Digital Officer (CDO), assuming strategic responsibility for groupwide activities aimed at digitalisation and networking products and processes as well as operational responsibility for the Supply Chains Solutions segment.
  • Dr Eike Böhm was reappointed for a further three years as an Executive Board member and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of KION GROUP AG. His second term of appointment will commence on 1 August 2019.

As at 31 December 2018, the responsibilities of the Executive Board members were as follows:

  • Gordon Riske, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is responsible for the LMH EMEA, STILL EMEA and KION Americas Operating Units in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment. He also remains in charge of the following group functions: corporate office, corporate communications, corporate strategy, internal audit, corporate compliance and KION Invest.
  • Dr Eike Böhm, in his role as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), has groupwide responsibility for research and development in both the Industrial Trucks & Services and the Supply Chain Solutions segments, including modules & components, and for procurement, quality, the production system and the KION Product Development Optimisation (KPDO) initiative.
  • Anke Groth, in her role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), is in charge of corporate accounting & tax, corporate controlling, corporate finance / M&A, investor relations, financial services, legal affairs and logistics / Urban. As Labour Relations Director, she is further responsible for corporate HR and health, safety & environment.
  • Ching Pong Quek, Chief Asia Pacific Officer, heads up the KION APAC Operating Unit and thus the entire Asia business within the Industrial Trucks & Services segment.
  • Susanna Schneeberger is responsible for the Dematic Operating Unit in the Supply Chain Solutions segment and – in the role of Chief Digital Officer (CDO) – for the groupwide areas of software development, KION Group IT, data protection, mobile automation and the Digital Campus.

The Group Executive Committee (GEC) advises the Executive Board of KION GROUP AG and provides input from the Operating Units. The committee comprises the Executive Board members as well as the presidents of the five Operating Units.

The Executive Board maintains a relationship of trust with, and is monitored by, the Company’s Supervisory Board.

Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board, which was formed in accordance with the German Codetermination Act (MitbestG), comprises 16 people. It advises the Executive Board in its handling of significant matters and business transactions. To increase the efficiency of its work, the Supervisory Board is supported by four standing committees: the Nomination Committee, the Executive Committee, the Audit Committee and the Mediation Committee.

The shareholder representatives’ term of office ends at the Annual General Meeting in 2022. Dr Michael Macht was appointed to the Supervisory Board with effect from 9 October 2018. He succeeds Mr Tan Xuguang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Weichai Power Co., Ltd., who stepped down on 30 September 2018. Mr Martin Fahrendorf succeeded Mr Denis Heljic as an employee representative with effect from 10 May 2018.