It was a completely surprising resignation: On Friday afternoon, the Munich agricultural group Baywa reported in a short obligatory announcement that the chairman of the supervisory board, Klaus Josef Lutz, was resigning from his position with immediate effect. This was preceded by a supervisory board meeting in which the other members of the control committee refused to follow him. It was about alleged violations by CEO Marcus Pöllinger of corporate governance guidelines, i.e. good corporate management. Lutz therefore called the extraordinary supervisory board meeting.
Lutz explained the reasons to the SZ on Sunday: “Due to different opinions on business transactions, I have resigned from my positions as chairman of the supervisory board of Baywa AG and Baywa re AG,” he said. “For me, principles of corporate governance are non-negotiable.” Baywa re is a subsidiary of AG that specializes in renewable energies.
Markus Pöllinger (left) and Klaus Josef Lutz during a group charity event in 2022.
(Photo: CATHERINAHESS/Catherina Hess)
Details of the alleged violations were not disclosed. A spokeswoman for Baywa also declined to comment. The company’s statement said that the supervisory board had “deliberated in detail about the allegation of a suspected compliance violation” by Pöllinger and had then “expressed its full confidence in him.”
Pöllinger, 44, has been CEO for nine months. Lutz, 65, had previously led Baywa as boss for 15 years and expanded it into an international agricultural group. Sales rose from around eight billion euros to 27 billion euros in 2022. Baywa employs almost 25,000 people.