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 289a 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 German Stock Corporation Act (AktG), which was issued by the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of KION GROUP AG on 19 December 2014, and the corporate governance report pursuant to section 3.10 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.

The essential features of the remuneration system are described in the remuneration report, which is part of the 2014 group management report and can be found in the ‘remuneration report’ section of this annual report. The total amounts for Executive Board remuneration and Supervisory Board remuneration are reported in the notes to the consolidated financial statements (note [43]).

Disclosures relevant to acquisitions

The disclosures relevant to acquisitions (pursuant to section 315 (4) HGB) together with the explanatory report form an integral part of the group management report and can be found in the ‘disclosures relevant to acquisitions’ section of this annual report.

Executive Board

The Executive Board of KION GROUP AG is responsible for the operational management of the KION Group. The responsibilities of the Executive Board members are allocated as follows:

  • Gordon Riske, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is responsible, among other things, for the strategy / business development, corporate communications, the corporate office, internal audit, compliance, KION Warehouse Systems, KION synergies / platforms, the North America region and the South America region. Since 15 January 2015, he has also been CEO of both the Linde Material Handling GmbH and the STILL GmbH brand companies and has assumed responsibility for quality.
  • Dr Thomas Toepfer, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), is in charge, among other things, of accounting, tax & financial services, corporate finance / investor relations / M&A, controlling, HR (Labour Relations Director), legal affairs, IT, purchasing and data protection. On 15 January 2015, he also assumed responsibility for facility management / health, safety & environment (HSE) and logistics / Urban.
  • Ching Pong Quek is Chief Asia Pacific Officer and heads up the KION Group’s entire Asia business.

Bert-Jan Knoef and Theodor Maurer stepped down as members of the Company’s Executive Board with effect from 15 January 2015. Until then, Mr Knoef had been CEO and Labour Relations Director of the brand company STILL GmbH. He oversaw all cross-brand logistics activities and managed the intra-group logistics service provider, Urban. Before his departure from the KION Group Executive Board, Mr Maurer was CEO and Labour Relations Director of the brand company Linde Material Handling GmbH until his departure from the KION GROUP AG Executive Board on 15 January 2015. He was also responsible for quality, facility management and health, safety & environment (HSE).

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 committees: the Nomination Committee, the Executive Committee, the Audit Committee and the Mediation Committee.

Thilo Kämmerer stepped down as an employee representative on the Supervisory Board with effect from 31 August 2014. He was replaced by Olaf Kunz on 1 September 2014. Ms Silke Scheiber and Dr Martin Hintze stepped down from the Supervisory Board with effect from 1 January 2015. Ms Birgit Behrendt and Ms Xu Ping were appointed to the Supervisory Board in their place.