Kuehne begins personal journey to succession

Klaus-Michael Kuehne, chairman of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, announced Thursday that he will delegate certain responsibilities to Karl Gernandt. 

Gernandt will become board member of the Kuehne Foundation, and managing director of the newly planned Klaus-Michael Kuehne Foundation. He will also become head of the Logistics Center of Execellence GmbH, a newly formed logistics research and education institute based in Hamburg. Both appointments will become effective Oct. 1.

As a delegate of the Kuehne Holding AG board, Gernandt will represent the interests of the majority shareholder in Kuehne + Nagel International.

Kuehne will propose Gernandt's election to the board of Kuehne + Nagel International, and his appointment will be subject to shareholders' approval at the annual general meeting in May 2009.

As Kuehne plans to step down from his post as delegate to the board of Kuehne + Nagel International, he will recommend Gernandt as his successor in this role.

Prior to this appointment, Gernandt, 48, served as chief executive officer of Holcim Western Europe Organization, based in Brussels, since 2007. Before joining Holcim (Deutschland) AG as CEO in 2000, he held management positions at A.T. Kearney Management Consulting from 1996 to 1999. He also worked at Deutsche Bank AG until 1995.

At the age of 71, I have decided to pass many of my responsibilities into younger hands and I am fortunate to have found a person to whom I will entrust a significant part of my life's work, Kuehne said in a statement. I am confident that Mr. Gernandt's proven leadership and advanced management capabilities will support my objective to sustain the continued growth, stability and independence of the Kuehne + Nagel Group.

He added: I will remain president of the board of the Kuehne Foundation and chairman of the board of directors of Kuehne + Nagel International AG. In close cooperation with Mr. Gernandt, I will continue to foster Kuehne + Nagel's leading position in the global logistics industry -- which is of heartfelt importance to me -- through my experience and entrepreneurial contributions.

Kuehne is financially backing a Hamburg investors group seeking to acquire Hapag-Lloyd, the German container shipping line owned by TUI AG.