Against the backdrop of strong economic growth in recent years and the development and integration of new business segments, which have led to REWE Group's total revenue of over 75 billion euros (2020 financial year) and a workforce of over 380,000 employees, the Cologne-based trading and tourism group is expanding its Group Management Board.
The appointment of Christoph Eltze (48) as of 1 July 2022 and Dr Daniela Büchel (49), Peter Maly (53) and Hans-Jürgen Moog (53) as of 1 January 2023 will further strengthen cross-Group cooperation between the business units and create additional synergies within the Group. All four new REWE Group Management Board members were previously responsible as Divisional Directors for Retail Germany: Christoph Eltze for Digital, Customer & Analytics and IT, Dr Daniela Büchel for HR and Sustainability, Peter Maly as COO REWE and Hans-Jürgen Moog for Purchasing. Together with Lionel Souque (50, CEO), Jan Kunath (56, Deputy CEO) and Telerik Schischmanow (47, CFO from 1 July 2022), Büchel, Eltze, Maly and Moog will form the seven-member Management Board of the REWE Group from January 2023.
In addition, Jan Kunath will take over responsibility for the DIY store business segment with the toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany from the departing CFO Dr Christian Mielsch on the REWE Group Management Board as of 1 July 2022.
Lionel Souque explained: "By expanding the Management Board, we are creating the conditions for further improving our efficiency and Group-wide synergies in strategic tasks such as Human Resources, Sustainability, Purchasing, Technology and Digitalisation in the future. In addition, the appointment of COO REWE Germany to the Group Management Board emphasises the outstanding importance of our core business for the development of the entire Group. I am convinced that we continue to have enormous potential for even more innovative and faster development, also in view of our entrepreneurial successes and dynamic economic growth over the past five years. Group-wide cooperation in cross-divisional tasks plays a central role in this. The future members of the Group Executive Board are excellent managers who live the values of our cooperative group with passion and expertise. And in our many years of working together, we have become a well-oiled team. I would like to sincerely thank the Supervisory Board of REWE Group for the trust it has placed in the outlined development path and the future members of the Management Board."
REWE Group Supervisory Board Chairman Erich Stockhausen says: "Our company has developed rapidly in recent years. Numerous innovations, both large and small, have positively advanced our brick-and-mortar business models and at the same time created completely new formats. In view of this very dynamic and successful development, it makes sense and is efficient to distribute the work on the REWE Group Management Board among a larger number of members. In my view, the fact that we can once again rely on managers from our own ranks, who have already proven their commitment and expertise in many years of successful work at REWE Group, is particularly positive in the upcoming expansion of the Management Board. We are committed to our cooperative principles and values, especially when it comes to filling our top management positions; we focus on long-term thinking and action that will ensure our sustainable success for generations to come."
Sören Hartmann to leave REWE Group Management Board at the end of 2022
REWE Group Management Board member Sören Hartmann (59) will leave the Management Board of the Cologne-based retail and tourism group at the end of his current contract on 31 December 2022 and will then be available to the company in an advisory capacity. Hartmann will also remain Chairman of the DER Travel and Tourism Foundation e.V. Hartmann has been President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) since March 2022 and will continue in this role.
Lionel Souque (50), CEO of the REWE Group, will take over responsibility for the Travel and Tourism division on the Management Board from 1 January 2023. Souque will rely on the proven structures and the strong management team in Germany and abroad of DER Travel and Tourism Group.
Sören Hartmann moved from the TUI Group to REWE Travel and Tourism in 2010, where he initially took over as Head of Package Tourism. With his appointment as CEO of DER Travel and Tourism, he was given overall responsibility for DER Travel and Tourism on 1 May 2014. With the takeover of the tour operator business and the Kuoni Group's sales department, DER Travel and Tourism further expanded its leading role in European tourism. in 2016, Hartmann was initially appointed Chief Representative of REWE Group and in 2017 was appointed to the Management Board of REWE Group.
Commenting on Sören Hartmann's departure from the Management Board at the end of 2022, Lionel Souque said: "With his outstanding performance and tireless commitment, Sören Hartmann has played a decisive role in helping DER Travel and Tourism Group to expand its leading position in the German and European tourism industry in recent years. He has moulded a German company into a truly European one: Following the acquisitions of the Exim and Fischer Groups in Central and Eastern Europe and the Kuoni Group, DER Travel and Tourism is now represented in 17 source markets and is the second-largest travel provider in Europe. Under his leadership, the hotel business was also strengthened with the acquisitions of Aldiana and DSR Hotels, and a separate structure was created in the incoming business with destination management companies in over 20 countries. last but not least, Sören Hartmann made a significant contribution to the DER Travel and Tourism Group's ability to overcome the enormous challenges and burdens of the coronavirus crisis. I would like to thank him very much for this. At the same time, I am looking forward to assuming responsibility for our Travel and Tourism division on the Group Management Board from 2023 in order to continue to develop this important pillar of REWE Group's business successfully in the future, and to working with the very experienced and highly competent management team of our DER Travel and Tourism Group in Germany and abroad."
The Chairman of the REWE Group Supervisory Board, Erich Stockhausen, explains: "More than a year ago, Sören Hartmann had already agreed to extend his contract, which was originally due to expire on 30 June this year, by six months. He is thus making another important contribution to ensuring that our Travel and Tourism division can emerge strongly from the crisis. I would like to thank Sören Hartmann for this special commitment as well as for his many years of successful work in the DER Travel and Tourism Group and on our Group's Management Board."
The Cologne-based trade and tourism group has decided to expand its Group Management Board in response to the strong growth it has recorded over the past few years, as well as the development and integration of new business segments which together have led to revenue of more than €75 billion at REWE Group (2020 business year) and a workforce in excess of 380,000 employees.
The appointment to the Management Board of Christoph Eltze, 48, (as of 1 July 2022), Dr Daniela Büchel, 49, Peter Maly, 53, and Hans-Jürgen Moog, 53, (all as of 1 January 2023) will further strengthen Group-wide cooperation with the business units and generate additional synergies throughout the Group. All four new REWE Group Management Board members were previously Executive Board members for Retail Germany, in which capacity Christoph Eltze was responsible for Digital, Customer & Analytics and IT, Dr Daniela Büchel for HR and Sustainability, and Hans-Jürgen Moog for Procurement, with Peter Maly serving as COO REWE. Beginning 1 January 2023, Büchel, Eltze, Maly and Moog will join Lionel Souque, 50 (CEO), Jan Kunath, 56 (Deputy CEO), and Telerik Schischmanow, 47 (CFO from 1 July 2022), to make up the seven-member Management Board of REWE Group.
Sören Hartmann, 59, the current Management Board member responsible for the Travel and Tourism division of REWE Group, will be stepping down from the Management Board as planned when his current contract expires on 31 December 2022, but will continue to serve the company in an advisory role. Group CEO Lionel Souque will assume responsibility for the Travel and Tourism division from 1 January 2023.
In addition, effective 1 July 2022, Jan Kunath will take over responsibility on the REWE Group Management Board for the DIY Stores business segment, including the toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany, from the department headed by CFO Dr Christian Mielsch, who is leaving the company.
"The expansion of the Management Board will create the conditions needed to improve our efficiency and Group-wide synergies even further with regard to strategic tasks relating to human resources, sustainability, procurement, technology and digitalisation," says Lionel Souque. "In addition, the appointment of the COO for REWE Group Deutschland as a Group Management Board member underscores the huge role our core business plays in the development of the entire Group. I am convinced that given our business success and the dynamic growth we've achieved over the last five years, we still have tremendous potential for even more innovative and rapid development. Group-wide collaboration and cooperation in cross-sectional areas and activities play a key role here. All of our future Group Management Board members are outstanding and competent managers who believe with a passion in our cooperative company's values, and also set an example for the rest of the workforce in this regard. In addition, our many years of cooperation with one another have made us an experienced and well-coordinated team. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the REWE Group Supervisory Board for the trust it has placed in our planned development path and in our future Management Board members."
The Chairman of REWE Group's Supervisory Board, Erich Stockhausen, had the following to say: "Our company has developed very rapidly over the last few years. Numerous innovations both large and small have had a positive impact on the development of our stationary business models and have also led to the creation of entirely new formats. Given this very dynamic and successful development, it makes sense to divide the work in the REWE Group Management Board among a larger number of people - and this will also ensure that an adequate level of efficiency can be maintained. In my view, it's especially pleasing that as we expand the Management Board, we are able to once again fall back on managers from our own ranks - managers who have demonstrated their commitment and expertise over many successful years at REWE Group. In particular when filling our top management positions, it is important that we act in line with our cooperative principles and values; we believe in long-term oriented thinking and action that will safeguard sustainable success across generations."
Speaking about the departure of Sören Hartmann from the Management Board at the end of 2022, Lionel Souque had the following to say: "Through his outstanding work and untiring dedication, Sören Hartmann made a decisive contribution to expanding DER Travel and Tourism Group into an organisation that was able to secure for itself a leading position in the German and European tourism industry - and I am extremely grateful to him for this achievement." REWE Group Supervisory Board Chairman Erich Stockhausen added: "Sören Hartmann structured our Travel and Tourism division in a manner that will enable it to emerge from the crisis in a strong position. I am very grateful to him for that - and for his many years of successful work with DER Travel and Tourism Group and in the REWE Group Management Board."
Sören Hartmann to step down from the REWE Group Management Board at the end of 2022
cEO Lionel Souque will assume responsibility for DER Travel and Tourism on the Management Board
REWE Group Management Board member Sören Hartmann, 59, will be stepping down from the Management Board of the Cologne-based trade and tourism group when his current contract expires on 31 December 2022. He will, however, then continue to serve the company in an advisory role. Hartmann will also remain Chairman of DER Travel and Tourism Foundation e.V., as well as President of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Tourismuswirtschaft (Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry - BTW), a position he has held since March 2022.
Group CEO Lionel Souque, 50, will assume responsibility for the Travel and Tourism division from 1 January 2023. Souque will be able to rely here on the proven structures and strong management team at DER Travel and Tourism Group both in Germany and abroad.
Hartmann came to REWE Group from the TUI Group in 2010 and was initially responsible for managing package tourism operations. With his appointment to the position of CEO at DER Travel and Tourism, Hartmann assumed complete responsibility for DER Travel and Tourism on 1 May 2014. DER Travel and Tourism later expanded its position in the European tourism industry by acquiring the tour-operator business and sales operations of the Kuoni Group. Hartmann was appointed fully authorised representative of REWE Group in 2016 and was then appointed to the REWE Group Management Board in 2017.
Speaking about the departure of Sören Hartmann from the Management Board at the end of 2022, Lionel Souque had the following to say: "Through his outstanding work and untiring dedication, Sören Hartmann made a decisive contribution to expanding DER Travel and Tourism Group over the last few years into an organisation that was able to secure a leading position for itself in the German and European tourism industry. He transformed a German company into a truly European company: Following the acquisition of the Exim and Fisher groups in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Kuoni Group, DER Travel and Tourism is now active in 17 source markets and is the second-largest tour operator in Europe. Sören Hartmann was also responsible for strengthening the hotel business with the acquisition of Aldiana and DSR Hotels.
He also created a unique structure for incoming business, including destination management companies in more than 20 countries. What's more, he played a major role in ensuring that DER Travel and Tourism Group was able to successfully overcome the challenges and difficulties associated with the coronavirus crisis. I am extremely grateful to him for these achievements. At the same time, I am looking forward to taking on responsibility for our Travel and Tourism division in 2023 so that I can help ensure that this key pillar of REWE Group will remain permanently successful in the future as well - and I am also looking forward to working with the highly experienced and competent DER Travel and Tourism Group management team both in Germany and abroad."
Erich Stockhausen, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of REWE Group, had the following to say: "Sören Hartmann told us more than a year ago that he would be willing to extend his contract, which was originally set to expire on 30 June 2022, for another six months. He was thus able to conduct additional important work that will enable our Travel and Tourism division to emerge from the crisis in a strong position. I am very grateful to him for this exceptional commitment - and for his many years of successful work with DER Travel and Tourism Group and in the REWE Group Management Board."