A generational change is in the making at the Otto Group. As the Hamburg-based retail and services group announced, the long-standing Chairman of the Executive Board and current Chairman of the Foundation Council, Shareholders' Council and Supervisory Board, Michael Otto, will hand over control of the family business to his son Benjamin Otto at the beginning of March 2026 and devote more time to his foundation activities. The roles of the 80-year-old company patriarch, who became a member of the Executive Board of the mail-order company founded by his father Werner Otto in 1971 and, as Chairman of the Executive Board from 1981 to 2007, developed it into a globally active retail group with a large online offering before moving to the top of the Supervisory Board, will be divided.

Benjamin Otto, who has been a member and „shaping shareholder“ of the Otto Group's Board of Partners since June 2015 and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Michael Otto Foundation, the majority owner of the Otto Group, is to become Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Partners. According to the Group, the Shareholders' Council will formulate and monitor the Group's strategic goals in the future. The 48-year-old has studied International Business at the European Business School in London after completing a banking apprenticeship. Then he became Managing Director of the e-commerce start-up Collins within the Otto Group from 2012 to 2015. The fashion and technology company About You emerged from that start-up in 2014 and has been listed on the stock exchange since 2021.

Benjamin Otto, who will take over the strategic management of the Otto Group from the supervisory bodies, will reportedly be supported by the current CEO Alexander Birken, who is set to take over as head of the Otto Group's Supervisory Board on March 1, 2025. Birken is to take over Michael Otto's duties as shareholder representative for the operational business on the board. He will later steer the fortunes of the Group „in close cooperation“ with Benjamin Otto and be a „central sparring partner“ for the Otto Group's Executive Board.

Birken joined Otto in 1991 and became Group CEO in 2005. Following his retirement from the Executive Board, the 59-year-old will also hand over his duties as CEO, which he took over in 2017, to Petra Scharner-Wolff at the beginning of March next year, the company announced as well. The 52-year-old has been responsible for Finance, Controlling and Human Resources at Otto Group Management since 2015.

The business graduate, who has worked for the family business since 1999, will be succeeded by Katy Roewer. The 48-year-old business graduate comes from Group Controlling, has worked for the individual company Otto for almost ten years and is currently responsible for Service, Human Resources and Finance of the largest Group company at divisional board level on an 80% part-time basis. She will also be responsible for Finance, Controlling and Human Resources on the Group Executive Board four days a week from March 2025. The personnel changes in the Supervisory Board and Executive Board of the Otto Group must be approved by the relevant bodies.

Successful generational change is one of the greatest challenges for family businesses, says Michael Otto. „My son is the third generation to take on overall responsibility for the Otto Group.“ He is very confident that Benjamin will lead the Otto Group into a good economic future and keep the specific values of the family business alive.