Kasper Rorsted new Chairman of Henkel's Management Board
Düsseldorf (euro adhoc) -
Change in the Management Board as planned
ots.CorporateNews transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
companies/Rorsted
Effective the end of Henkel's 2008 Annual General Meeting, Kasper Rorsted is the new Chairman of the Management Board. Having reached the internally agreed age of retirement, his predecessor, Ulrich Lehner, resigned as of the same date. Lehner was appointed Chairman back in May 2000 and, with a brief interruption, had been with Henkel since 1981. He will, however, remain closely associated with the company as a member of its Shareholders' Committee.
Kasper Rorsted is the new Chairman of the Henkel Management Board. Henkel announced that the 46-year-old Dane was to be the successor of Ulrich Lehner as Henkel Chairman back in December 2006. Having taken this decision at an early stage, Henkel was able to continue the good tradition of providing employees, customers, business partners and participants in the capital markets early planning security. For all stakeholders, this decision means a high degree of continuity in the areas of corporate culture, people management and sustainable business development.
"Ulrich Lehner has been a major force in driving Henkel's internationality and profitability. By realigning our focus to our brands and technologies, he set the direction for the continuous successful development of Henkel," commented Albrecht Woeste, Chairman of both the Shareholders' Committee and the Supervisory Board at Henkel, in thanking the departing Chairman for the outstanding contribution he made to the company during his long tenure. Woeste went on: "I am sure that Kasper Rorsted will go on to add further chapters to Henkel's success story."
Rorsted, who has been with Henkel since April 2005, will be the company's first Chairman from outside the German-speaking area. He is also the first Chairman of Henkel's newly constituted Management Board. Effective the end of today's Annual General Meeting, the newly founded Henkel Management AG joined Henkel KGaA as its sole personally liable partner. Henkel KGaA will in the future operate under the name of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. The Management Board of Henkel Management AG comprises the same executives who made up the former Management Board of the KGaA - with the exception of Prof. Dr. Lehner - with Kasper Rorsted as Chairman. Ulrich Lehner will hand over his office to Kasper Rorsted tonight at an evening function with 250 invited guests.
"I am very much looking forward to the tasks ahead of me. Henkel is an internationally successful company with strong, well-known brands," commented Kasper Rorsted. "I see it as my duty to continue driving Henkel forward to success. This will mean continuously and consistently augmenting our many and varied strengths. One of the main focal points for 2008 will be the integration of the Adhesives and Electronic Materials businesses acquired from National Starch."
Kasper Rorsted already has a successful career behind him, having occupied senior positions in the international managements of Digital, Oracle, Compaq and Hewlett Packard. Before joining the Henkel Management Board, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager at Hewlett Packard responsible for the Europe, Middle East & Africa operation, which accounted for some 40,000 employees and annual sales of around 20 billion euros. When Kasper Rorsted joined the Henkel Management Board in April 2005, he assumed responsibility for Human Resources, Purchasing, IT and Infrastructure Services. In January 2007, he was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Management Board.
In addition to Danish, Rorsted also speaks English, German and Swedish. He is married with four children.
For more than 130 years, Henkel has been a leader with brands and technologies that make people's lives easier, better and more beautiful. Henkel operates in three business areas - Home Care, Personal Care, and Adhesives Technologies - and ranks among the Fortune Global 500 companies. In fiscal 2007, Henkel generated sales of 13,074 million euros and operating profit of 1,344 million euros. Our 58,000 employees worldwide are dedicated to fulfilling our corporate claim, "A Brand like a Friend," and ensuring that people in more than 125 countries can trust in brands and technologies from Henkel.
Press Contact:
Lars Witteck Wulf Klüppelholz Phone: +49-211-797-2606 Phone: +49-211-797-1875 Fax: +49-211-798-9208 Fax: +49-211-798-9208
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Head of Corporate Communications Ernst Primosch, Corporate Vice President
press@henkel.com
Photo material and CVs for download available at: http://henkel.com/press
[pic]
end of announcement euro adhoc
Further inquiry note:
Heike Ambaum
Tel.: +49 (0)211 797-2942
E-Mail: heike.ambaum@henkel.com
Branche: Consumer Goods
ISIN: DE0006048432
WKN: 604843
Index: DAX, CDAX, HDAX, Prime All Share
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Börse Hamburg / free trade
Börse Stuttgart / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Börse Hannover / free trade
Börse München / free trade
Börse Berlin / regulated dealing