Those who thought that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic would set the personnel carousel of Dax executives in motion were mistaken. In 2023, Dax companies leaned more towards continuity and stability. While there were some leadership changes, many of them were not surprising. Two of them were long-planned and went relatively smoothly.

Right at the beginning of the new year, former football pro Bjørn Gulden had the opportunity to "change teams." As of January 1st, the former Puma CEO took over the leadership of the competitor Adidas. It was somewhat of an ideal appointment since Gulden is familiar with the sporting goods industry, both wholesale and retail, and the company itself. He needed no time to get acclimated but wasn't granted any either because his predecessor, Kasper Rorsted, left a lot of work behind. The business in the crucial Chinese market was struggling, and there was a revenue gap after the abrupt termination of the collaboration with rapper Kanye West.

Lars Wagner has been leading MTU Aero Engines since the beginning of 2023 as well. When he succeeded his longtime predecessor Reiner Winkler – the change at the top had been announced months in advance – the new CEO seemed to have a well-functioning company. Germany's largest engine manufacturer was on a strong recovery path after the Covid-19 crisis. At the mid-year mark, the 47-year-old was able to present very favorable numbers. But a significant engine recall posed the first major test right away. In the summer, the stock lost a quarter of its value. The CEO is still considered experienced enough to tackle this major challenge.

Meanwhile, Bill Anderson took on a heavy legacy at Bayer. Supervisory Board Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann had held on to CEO Werner Baumann for a long time. However, on June 1st, it finally happened: Anderson took over the helm. There was little time to get to know the globally positioned pharmaceutical and agrochemical company. Not only are the legal risks brought in with Monsanto still not resolved, but there is also the task of keeping the pharmaceutical division on track as patents for essential medications expire in the coming years.

For over 15 years, Frank Appel was the face of Deutsche Post. In May 2023, he was succeeded by Tobias Meyer as CEO. Appel's departure was not entirely voluntary. He would have liked to remain CEO of the Dax member for a bit longer – after all, 61 is not an age for retirement. However, when it became known in early 2022 that Appel was to take on the chairmanship of the supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom in addition to his job at the Post, it sparked strong criticism. Doubts were raised about whether the dual role was compatible with the Corporate Governance Code, and there was a concern that, given the additional burden, Appel might not be able to meet his responsibilities.

The change in leadership at BASF had been announced long in advance. Thus, the outgoing CEO Martin Brudermüller played a role in his own succession. Shortly before Christmas, it was decided that Markus Kamieth (53), currently Head of Asia, would succeed the long-time CEO Brudermüller (62) after the annual general meeting of the world's largest chemical company in April 2024. Kamieth, along with Chief Technology Officer Melanie Maas-Brunner, had been considered a favorite for the CEO position. However, Maas-Brunner will not extend her contract, which expires at the end of the month.

Numerous contract extensions indicate that most Dax companies opt for what is tried and true in tumultuous times. Nikolai Setzer will remain the CEO of automotive supplier Continental for another five years but will relinquish responsibility for the Automotive segment. In April, the supervisory board extended the mandate of the 52-year-old until the end of March 2029.

Oliver Bäte's contract extension had been speculated about in the summer. In October, the supervisory board of Allianz SE announced that the 58-year-old CEO of the insurance company would stay on. His contract was extended until the annual general meeting in 2028. Although Bäte will be 63 when he leaves – just exceeding the age limit for executives of a maximum of 62 –, it benefits the insurer by easing the transition at the top of the supervisory board and the executive board. Michael Diekmann will leave the supervisory board in 2026. His successor will then have more than a year to handle the announced succession of Bäte in 2027.

In September, BMW prematurely extended the contract of CEO Oliver Zipse by two years until 2026. This decision deviates from the usual age limit for executives of 60 years. Zipse will reach this threshold on February 7th next year. The carmaker justified this exception with upcoming strategic decisions. The supervisors trust Zipse to navigate the critical phase of the transition to electromobility and autonomous driving in an orderly manner.

The succession search at Deutsche Börse seems well-organized. At the end of September, the company began searching for a successor to CEO Theodor Weimer. The 63-year-old's contract expires at the end of 2024. Thomas Book, responsible for trading and clearing on the board, and Stephan Leithner, responsible for pre- and post-trading, are considered possible internal candidates for the role of CEO. Nonetheless, external solutions are also being discussed.

There seems to be a shortage of specialists in the realm of financial officers as vacancies sometimes take months to fill. The supervisory board of Covestro unanimously appointed Christian Baier as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). However, the 46-year-old only took office on October 1, 2023, succeeding Thomas Toepfer, who had already left the company by August 31, 2023. An interim solution was necessary to fill the gap. At Airbus, Toepfer, on the other hand, succeeded Dominik Asam on September 1, 2023, whose move to SAP had been known since the summer of 2022. With Toepfer, who had been CFO of the plastic manufacturer Covestro since April 2018, Airbus Supervisory Board Chairman René Obermann once again opted for a manager from outside the industry. At SAP, Asam seamlessly followed Luka Mucic, who had announced his departure to Vodafone in March 2023, albeit with a one-year lead time. Mucic, who had managed SAP's finances for almost ten years, started as CFO of Vodafone in September.

There were more or less "ordinary" changes in the finance department this year at BASF. Hans-Ulrich Engel, who led the finance department of the chemical company since 2011, retired with the annual general meeting. As is customary at BASF, the board position was filled internally. The successor, Dirk Elvermann, had been determined since last October. And on July 1, Helene von Roeder, digital executive of Vonovia, joined the Darmstadt-based pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA. She replaced long-time CFO Marcus Kuhnert.

Florian Funck, CFO of Duisburg family holding Haniel, will become CFO of laboratory equipment supplier Sartorius on April 1, 2024. The move had already been announced in December 2022. The 52-year-old will succeed Rainer Lehmann, who is going to the Danish biotech company Novozymes. Meanwhile, on January 1, 2024, Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre will take over from Allianz CFO Giulio Terzariol (51). Both personnel changes were announced in October. Coste-Lepoutre will have a contract until December 2026. Terzariol is going to take on the new role of CEO Insurance at Generali from January. For the Bäte succession in 2028, Allianz can now draw on a pool of female top managers. Four of the nine board members will soon be women.