The Executive Board of KION GROUP AG is responsible for the operational management of the KION Group. The Executive Board maintains a relationship of trust with, and is monitored by, the Company’s Supervisory Board.
The Executive Board has had six members since January 1, 2021 following the Supervisory Board’s appointment of Hasan Dandashly (for four years) and Andreas Krinninger (for three years) as additional members of the Executive Board of KION GROUP AG. In this context, all of the Group’s operating activities were explicitly allocated to particular areas of responsibility on the Executive Board. Hasan Dandashly, President & CEO of Dematic, has global Executive Board responsibility for the Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) segment. Andreas Krinninger, President & CEO of Linde Material Handling EMEA, is responsible for the EMEA business of the Industrial Trucks & Services (ITS) segment, which includes the operational business of KION brand companies Linde, STILL, and Baoli within the EMEA region. Ching Pong Quek continues to be responsible for the Industrial Trucks & Services segment in the APAC and Americas regions. The Executive Board as a whole is collectively responsible for key operational and strategic decisions and for the allocation of resources.
The Supervisory Board appointed Dr. Henry Puhl, President & CEO of STILL EMEA, as a member of the Executive Board in the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of KION GROUP AG, with a three-year term that started on July 1, 2021. He succeeded Dr. Eike Böhm, who retired on June 30, 2021.
The Supervisory Board of KION GROUP AG appointed Dr. Richard Robinson Smith to take over as Chief Executive Officer with effect from January 1, 2022. He succeeds Gordon Riske, who stepped down from the Executive Board at the end of 2021 after 14 years in charge of the Company. He left six months before the end of his contract, which was due to run until he reached the standard retirement age of 65. Gordon Riske will continue to support the KION Group in an advisory capacity until the original end of his Executive Board service contract on June 30, 2022.
In February 2022, Anke Groth, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Labor Relations Director of KION GROUP AG, whose contract would have been coming up for renewal, reached agreement by amicable and mutual consent with the Supervisory Board that her employment at KION GROUP AG will end with effect from March 31, 2022, before the end of her contract, so that she can take on new challenges outside the Group. Until a new CFO has been appointed, the Chief Executive Officer Dr. Richard Robinson Smith will take over Ms. Groth’s responsibilities on an interim basis.
The responsibilities of the Executive Board members as at December 31, 2021 are listed in the corporate governance statement.