Politics
11th Corporate Governance Code Conference in Berlin
Women’s advancement, executive pay and transparency were the dominant themes at the 11th Corporate Governance Code Conference in Berlin. Thus, Kristina Schröder (CDU) promoted her alternative to a rigid quota for women. The Federal Family Minister believes what is needed is a ‘smart quota’ to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions. With the flexi-quota, which each company should set for itself, this could be measured, say on a website. A self-imposed quota would not lead only to single digits, said the politician, referring to the flexi-quotas which the personnel directors of the 30 DAX companies set for themselves in autumn 2011 and were consistently in the mid double-digit range. Despite flexibility, however, a measure of commitment was also needed, which is why Schröder continues to advocate legislation. Otherwise, the EU would impose rigid quotas. Klaus-Peter Müller, Chairman of the Code Commission, continues to oppose legal regulation.
Norbert Lammert, however, took aim at the conference at the hot topic of executive compensation. Although there were limitations on executive pay, these were not being kept to, leading to loss of confidence in the structures of the economic system. Lammert was concerned with basics: the performance differences in society were not as big as the income differences, and some executive remuneration was no longer comprehensible. Especially the €17 million salary of VW CEO Martin Winterkorn had reignited the debate. The Federal President went so far as to say that Ferdinand Piëch (75) was acting like an alien, and accused the VW patriarch of violating the rules of good corporate governance. Examples were the age limit for Supervisory Board members and the appointment of Piëch’s wife Ursula to the Volkswagen Supervisory Board. Piëch would exceed the age limit during his tenure, and Ursula Piëch could hardly be regarded as an independent member of the supervisory body. Müller recalled that the subject of executive compensation would be debated again in the future.