The supervisory board of Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) voted unanimously for the immediate dismissal and release of CEO Eva Kreienkamp. The board announced on Wednesday. Kreienkamp’s contract would have expired at the end of September anyway. In October 2022, the Supervisory Board decided not to extend it. She had only taken on the top job at BVG two years earlier, in October 2020.
Kreienkamp and the BVG were recently in dispute, among other things, because the manager saw serious problems in dealing with queer lifestyles in the company. The BVG is in a transformation that “takes longer than expected,” she said a few weeks ago Süddeutsche Zeitung. According to SZ information, there is talk of a “partially homophobic corporate culture” in the group, which has already driven many employees out of the company in recent months and puts a heavy burden on many others. Employees who live openly homosexually, for example, described discrimination against colleagues to the SZ. Kreienkamp himself is also openly homosexual.
The guarantors’ meeting of the BVG must make the final decision on the dismissal – this is considered a formality. The assembly is appointed by the Berlin Senate and consists primarily of members from various Senate administrations. According to information from the German Press Agency, the assembly will meet on Thursday.
Henrik Falk has already been introduced as Kreienkamp’s successor. He is scheduled to take over the post on January 1, 2024. Falk has already held various management positions at BVG. Among other things, the law graduate headed the legal department and the BVG holding company. The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) is Germany’s largest local transport company with 15,800 employees, nine subway, 22 tram and more than 160 bus lines.