JOC Staff | Mar 04, 2013 4:46PM EST
Kuehne + Nagel International’s board of directors has announced that Reinhard Lange, CEO of the Kuehne + Nagel Group since 2009, will step down because of health reasons, effective May 7, 2013.
Until the termination of his contract on Dec. 31, 2013, Lange will continue to support the group in a consultancy role.
To facilitate the transition, a management team under the leadership of Karl Gernandt, chairman of Kuehne + Nagel International, will take over the tasks of Lange to begin the planned streamlining of the regional structures and the respective management teams. Gernhandt, together with the business units’ heads Horst-Joachim Schacht of Seafreight, Tim Scharwath of Airfreight, Stefan Paul of Road & Rail Logistics and Detlef Trefzger of Contract Logistics, will be responsible for the implementation of the aligned structure. Gerard van Kesteren, CFO, will also be responsible for ensuring the unchanged performance orientation of the Kuehne + Nagel Group.
The search for a new CEO has already started, the logistics company said in a written statement.
Lange has worked for the Kuehne + Nagel Group for more than 40 years. After he started his career in Bremen, Germany, he was a member of the management boards in the Asia-Pacific region and in Germany, before he became managing director of the Kuehne + Nagel organization in Canada. In 1999, he was appointed to the management board of Kuehne + Nagel International. He is also largely responsible for the development of the sea freight business.
The company’s operating profit fell 5.8 percent year-over-year in 2012, despite gains in ocean, air and land transport volumes.
