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Professor Heinz Jörg Fuhrmann was unanimously elected new supervisory-board chairman of Aurubis with effect from 1 October. Ernst Wortberg will in future be only an ordinary member, the company announced on 30 August. Previously, the part-State company had lifted its share of Europe’s leading integrated copper producer back above the important threshold of 25 percent.

Eric Strutz will not extend his contract with Commerzbank, and will leave the partly nationalized bank at the end of March 2012. Until then, the CFO’s responsibilities will continue. The 46-year-old manager wants to take a year’s break and devote himself to his family.

Burkhard Schuchmann is resigning, effective 23 September, and leaving the supervisory board of Demag Cranes, the crane manufacturer announced on 10 August. Terex has now secured over 80 percent of Demag. Meanwhile, the EU’s antitrust authority has approved the transaction. The U.S. construction-equipment manufacturers had announced their intention to be appropriately involved in the supervisory board.

Barely a week after completion of the acquisition of Demag Cranes by Terex, two board members have filed notice of termination. Rainer Beaujean and Thomas Hagen want to leave the crane manufacturer by the end of November, Demag Cranes announced on 22 August. ​​Each has made use of the special termination right due them in connection with the change of control.

Professor Werner J. Bauer has been appointed to the Supervisory Board of GEA Group. The Chief Technology Officer of the Nestlé group succeeds Dieter Ammer, who resigned for personal reasons on 7 July. His appointment by the court ends with the next GEA Annual General Meeting on 24 April next year. Bauer sits inter alia on the Board of L’Oréal.

Hanover Re has appointed Claude Chèvre as a full member of the board. The 44-year-old, who comes from Partner Re, will together with Klaus Miller be responsible as from 1 February 2012 for the business area of personal reinsurance, the reinsurance group announced on 8 August. Born in Switzerland, he succeeds Wolf Becke, retiring on 1 January 2012.

Kabel Deutschland Holding has found the successor to the retiring Paul Thomason in-house. Andreas Siemen becomes the new CFO of the largest cable company in Germany on 1 October. The 49-year-old has been employed since 2003 at the cable operator; recently he was director in charge of the areas of corporate strategy, acquisitions and finance, and also involved in the IPO of the Group.

Praktiker has announced that the Supervisory Board has appointed Thomas Fox as chairman from 1 October and Joseph Schultheis as a member of the Board with immediate effect. Fox is known for fast and efficient cost management and should focus on reducing rental and personnel costs. Until the 54-year-old occupies his head office in Kirkel, Saarland, Schultheis - with whom Fox had already worked together at Karstadt - is to lead the ailing DIY group. Thus the provisional succession to outgoing CEO Wolfgang Werner, blamed by many for the decline of the company, has been settled as expected. He did not manage to present clients and investors with anything new following the end of the 20-percent discount offers.

QSC is expanding its board. The telecommunications service provider has appointed Arnold Stender and Thomas Stoek to the Board from 1 September. They are to promote the sales and operational development of the group to become a leading German ICT service provider for SMEs, said supervisory-board chairman Herbert Brenke. Stender will be responsible for indirect sales, but should especially intensify sales through partners and simultaneously open up new sales channels for the expanded product portfolio. Stoek is CEO of Info and on top of this function will also take responsibility for direct sales of the QSC group. He has over 20 years of IT experience in national and international companies.

On 1 July 2012 Jürgen Grossmann will be replaced at RWE by Peter Terium. The 47-year-old Dutchman will initially join the Board on 1 September as Deputy Chairman, as the utility announced on 8 August after a supervisory-board meeting. Also in mid-2012, board member Rolf Martin Schmitz will be appointed as Deputy Chairman.