OREANDA-NEWS.   Karl Ulrich Garnadt to become Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and CEO of Lufthansa German Airlines • Peter Gerber nominated as CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa Cargo AG • Dr Bettina Volkens, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Director of Industrial Relations, responsible for Corporate Human Resources and Legal Affairs also to become Board Member and Chief Human Resources Officer at Lufthansa German Airlines.
The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG elected Karl Ulrich Garnadt (57) to the Group's Executive Board at its meeting today in Frankfurt. He will take up his position on 1 May 2014 and assume Board responsibility for Lufthansa Passenger Airlines. He will succeed Carsten Spohr, who will become Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa Group on 1 May.

Garnadt has worked for the Lufthansa Group since 1979, including many years in a range of senior management functions at Lufthansa German Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo. He has been CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa Cargo AG since January 2011.

“We are delighted to have obtained Karl Ulrich Garnadt for the Executive Board of the Lufthansa Group, as he is a very experienced aviation manager with extensive knowledge of the Group. He makes an ideal addition to the Executive Board team,” said Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “This selection process was conducted in close coordination with Carsten Spohr, the future Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. We know that Lufthansa Passenger Airlines will be in best hands with Karl Garnadt.”

Before he was appointed as CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa Cargo AG in 2011, Garnadt was already a member of the Lufthansa Passenger Airlines Board from 2007 to 2010. During that time, he was responsible amongst others for hub management in Frankfurt and Munich, passenger service and cabin crew. The establishment of the hub in Munich was one of Karl Ulrich Garnadt's particular achievements.

“I'm looking forward to my new role and am delighted that the Supervisory Board has placed its confidence in me,” said Karl Ulrich Garnadt following his appointment. Already turning his attention to the future, he added: “I will do everything together with the Lufthansa Passenger Airlines team to further strengthen Lufthansa's position as the leading European airline. We know the challenges, but we also know our strengths.”

The Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG also gave a recommendation to the Supervisory Board of Lufthansa Cargo AG to appoint Peter Gerber (50) as the new Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO. Gerber has been responsible for Human Resources, IT and Services on the Executive Board of Lufthansa German Airlines since June 2012. Prior to that, he was in charge of Finance, IT and Human Resources on the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo from 2009 to May 2012. He is scheduled to take up his new position on 1 May 2014.

“Peter Gerber is an excellent nomination for the position of the CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa Cargo,” said Dr Christoph Franz, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, in praise of the designated candidate.

“With Peter Gerber, we can be certain that he will continue the excellent work of Karl Garnadt and will lead Lufthansa Cargo successfully in a difficult market environment,” said Carsten Spohr, designated Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Looking to the management handover at Lufthansa German Airlines, he added: “Based on our long-standing working relationship together, I firmly believe that Lufthansa Passenger Airlines is in good hands with Karl Garnadt. I feel good about handing the airline over to him.”

Dr Bettina Volkens, who has been responsible for Corporate Human Resources and Legal Affairs as Director of Industrial Relations and member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG since 1 July 2013 will also become a board member and Chief Human Resources Officer at Lufthansa German Airlines as of 1 May 2014. The necessary organizational adjustments will be finalized in the next few weeks and presented to the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

“Combining responsibility for human resources for the Group and for Lufthansa Passenger Airlines means that Bettina Volkens will continue to lead the upcoming negotiations for the collective labor agreements as the Group's Chief Human Resources Officer,” said Spohr. “She also represents the cultural change that has been initiated in the Group and will help to ensure that it takes hold even more thoroughly in future. We are certain that it is in the interests of the Company and the staff to have one person manage these matters.