At today's Annual General Meeting of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, the shareholders present accounted for 83.29 per cent of the voting shares.
All proposals were approved by a clear majority. Change in chairmanship: Former Vice Chairman Dr. Joerg Wolle succeeds Karl Gernandt who will now assume the function of Chairman of Kuehne Holding AG. Hauke Stars was elected as a new member of the Board of Directors.
According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Karl Gernandt, Kuehne + Nagel can look back on a very successful year 2015. In a challenging macroeconomic environment, the Kuehne + Nagel Group managed to further increase profitability and achieve a new record result in earnings for the year. The Chairman emphasized the Group’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to market changes due to its lean and efficient structures. In addition, the stronger focus of the Group on industry-specific and integrated logistics services has been a decisive success factor, the Chairman said. This strategic approach increases customer benefit and makes the company less dependent on cyclical growth impulses. The stability of the Group and the strong leadership of the management combined with market agility and customer focus give cause for optimism that the positive development of the company will continue, stated Karl Gernandt.
Shareholders approved the annual report, the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements for 2015 and followed the Board of Director’s proposal of a dividend of CHF 5.00 gross per share. Payout is scheduled for May 9, 2016. Additionally, the Annual General Meeting granted discharge to the Board of Directors and the Management Board for the 2015 business year.
Elections Board of Directors
Dr. Renato Fassbind, Juergen Fitschen, Karl Gernandt, Klaus-Michael Kuehne, Hans Lerch, Dr. Thomas Staehelin, Dr. Martin Wittig and Dr. Joerg Wolle were re-elected individually for one year-terms.
Bernd Wrede did not stand for re-election. The Board of Directors thanked him for his commitment and his substantial input over the last 17 years, contributing to shape the course of the Kuehne + Nagel Group.
Ms. Hauke Stars is the first female member elected to the Board of Directors. Since December 2012 she has been a member of the Executive Board, Deutsche Börse AG. Hauke Stars started her professional career in 1992 at Bertelsmann mediaSystems GmbH, Gütersloh, Germany. From 1998 to 2004 she worked for ThyssenKrupp Information Systems GmbH, Krefeld, renamed to Triaton GmbH in 2000. In 2004 Hauke Stars joined Hewlett Packard Netherlands B.V., Utrecht, as member of the country management. From 2007 to 2012 she was Managing Director of Hewlett Packard Switzerland GmbH and Country Manager Enterprise Systems.
Chairman of the Board of Directors
With an overwhelming majority of votes Dr. Joerg Wolle was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors for a one-year term. This handover in the chairmanship by election of the Annual General Meeting was recommended by the Board of Directors on March 2, 2016.
Honorary Chairman Klaus-Michael Kuehne expressed his gratitude to Karl Gernandt for his five-year term as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Due to his strong leadership and management skills, he was very successful in this role, Kuehne said. The last few years in particular had shown the extent of his influence on the positive development of the Kuehne + Nagel Group. Karl Gernandt will now fully focus on the portfolio of Kuehne Holding AG, and expand its business activities. At the same time, Kuehne expressed his pleasure that Dr. Wolle, a particularly experienced top executive, well-known in Switzerland and with international standing, is appointed as Chairman of the Board. It was under the leadership of Dr. Wolle that DKSH became a leading provider of market expansion services.
Compensation Committee
Shareholders followed the Board of Directors’ recommendation to re-elect Karl Gernandt, Klaus-Michael Kuehne and Hans Lerch to the Compensation Committee for another one-year term.
Independent Proxy / Statutory Auditor
Kurt Gubler, Investarit AG, Zurich was confirmed as independent proxy; the mandate as Statutory Auditor for the year 2016 was given to Ernst & Young AG, Zurich.
Maintenance of Authorized Share capital (Change of Articles of Association)
Shareholders approved the maintenance of the authorized share capital for a two years term until May 3, 2018 including the revision of Article 3.3 (1) of the Articles of Association.
Remuneration Report
In a consultative vote the shareholders endorsed the 2015 Remuneration Report.
Votes on Remuneration
The total maximum amount of remuneration for the members of the Board of Directors was prospectively approved according to the legal require ments, covering the period until the end of the next Annual General Meeting. In a separate vote, shareholders confirmed the total maximum amount of remuneration for the Management Board, covering the business year 2017.
