Post boss Frank Appel will start in 2022 in a new role at the magenta-colored section of the former Federal Post Office. There he meets a long-standing corporate leader – who is staying longer than planned.
The CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Tim Höttges, will remain in office until at least 2026. The 59-year-old got a new, five-year contract, as the company announced after a meeting of its supervisory board on Wednesday in Bonn.
The previous contract of the CEO, who has been in office since 2014, would have expired at the end of 2023. At the same time, the supervisory body set the course for the successor to long-time supervisory board chairman Ulrich Lehner (75). He is to be followed by Frank Appel (60), the former Post CEO – he is to be elected to the Supervisory Board at the Telekom general meeting in April and then to move to the top.
Höttges stands for change and success
Höttges stand “like no other for the change and success of the past few years,” said the outgoing supervisory board chairman Lehner about the top telecommunications manager. “Tim Höttges – together with his team – has modernized Telekom over the past eight years and consistently geared it towards growth and innovation.” Company goals have always been exceeded. “With skill, persistence and assertiveness, Tim Höttges made Deutsche Telekom the leading telecommunications company in Europe.” Be glad, “Mr. Magenta ».
The chairman of the Telekom supervisory board, Lehner, also commented on his designated successor. He is a leader who is driving digitization at Swiss Post and who has a strong understanding of doing business in regulated markets. “In his previous role, he has shown how a company can be successfully positioned in global competition, including outside of Europe.”
Post is moving up
Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Post DHL emerged from the Bundespost in the 1990s – the gray radio communication technology division was seen as having great potential in view of the emergence of mobile communications, while the yellow post division was more of a problem child. Thanks to the booming online trade, Swiss Post has long been on the road to success. Telekom has also developed positively in recent years, with the US market with its lucrative subsidiary T-Mobile US becoming increasingly important.
In Germany, Deutsche Telekom is pushing ahead with the expansion of its 5G mobile network and its fiber-optic network – an expensive thing, but in which there has been great progress that should pay off in the long term. In terms of the stock market price, however, Telekom is making little headway – at around 16 euros a share certificate is not much more endowed than when it went public in 1996, when the equivalent of 14.57 euros was called. After all, the company relies on relatively high dividends.
Positive reactions
The news of the extended Höttges term of office was received positively by shareholder representatives. “This is a success for Telekom: two successful managers form a tandem to steer Telekom into the future,” said Marc Tüngler of the German Association for Protection of Securities (DSW).
In May 2023, Appel wants to hand over his executive chair to the post office. Tüngler called the fact that the manager was supposed to be both Post’s CEO and Telekom supervisory board chief for a transition period of one year – this contradicts the corporate governance code, which lays down rules for good corporate governance and relies on the voluntary nature of companies.
Tüngler can understand this temporary double function as a transition: Appel is extremely important for the Post, he has modernized the yellow market giant and put it on the road to success. It is therefore good for Swiss Post that its head of the company will remain on board at least until spring 2023. “Today’s decisions are very good news for Telekom, but the foreseeable departure from Appel is a noticeable loss for Swiss Post.”
Source From: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
