The Frankfurt fund company Deka is calling for a new supervisory board chairman for the automotive supplier Continental. “We believe that there needs to be a renewal at the top of Continental’s supervisory board,” said Cornelia Zimmermann, a specialist in good corporate governance at the savings bank securities firm Handelsblatt. Conti is involved in the diesel emissions scandal and had to admit problems with air conditioning and industrial hoses in September. “We see a structural problem in the supervisory board at Continental, especially with regard to the chairmanship of Wolfgang Reitzle,” said Zimmermann.
The former Linde boss Reitzle is 73 years old and will be elected as the head of the Conti supervisory board until the 2024 annual general meeting. With a stake of 46 percent, the Schaeffler family, the owners of the automotive supplier of the same name, has a majority at the general meeting.