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Thomas B. Quaas will be replaced after the AGM in April 2012 and is subsequently to be voted onto the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board of Beiersdorf has nominated Stefan F. Heidenreich to succeed the current CEO. Heidenreich is moving in early 2012 from the Hero Group to the Hamburg cosmetic company to “implement the corporate strategy further”.

Christian Holzherr will leave Celesio on 30 November. The CFO’s contract would have run until the end of April 2013. Michael Lonsert is also leaving the company, on 31 December. Thus the company, controlled by the Haniel Group of Duisburg, is already losing its second and third top executive, after the departure of Fritz Oesterle at the end of June.

After selling the last of its shares in July, Providence is to withdraw from the board of Kabel Deutschland Holding (KDG), the company announced on 13 October at its general meeting. The three representatives of the Americans laid down their mandates at the end of October. In addition to John Hahn, Biswajit Subramanian and Robert Sudo, Supervisory Board member Ian West also left. The successors are economics professor Annet Aris, media manager and former MTV Europe boss Catherine Mühlemann, IT manager Paul Stodden and financial expert Torsten Winkler. The candidates were initially court-appointed; however, their election should come at the shareholder meeting next year. With the departure of the private-equity firm, KDG is 100 percent free float.

Linde is taking its new Director for North and South American operations from Siemens. Thomas Blades was appointed as the fourth Supervisory Board member, to succeed Kent Masters, the industrial-gases company announced on 30 September in Munich. The Briton will take up his duties by 1 April 2012, Linde also announced. He was most recently CEO of the oil and gas division at Siemens.

Eckhard Cordes wants to give up his position at METRO. The chief executive of the retail giant announced on 9 October that he was no longer available for a renewal of his current contract, expiring on 31 October 2012. Professor Jürgen Kluge also resigned his post of Supervisory Board chairman at the retail group on 2 November. Instead, Franz Markus Haniel is to move to the Supervisory Board.