Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Stepken, chief executive officer of TÜV SÜD Stiftung, will stand for election by shareholders as a new member of the Supervisory Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft at the Annual General Meeting on April 30, 2024. In the event of his election, the Supervisory Board has appointed him as a member of the Supervisory Board’s Presiding and Sustainability Committee.

Axel Stepken, who was born in the city of Essen, worked for TÜV SÜD AG for more than 20 years before taking up his current position. He was initially a member of the Executive Board responsible for the Industry division and the Asia-Pacific region, before taking over as CEO in 2007. After studying electrical engineering and earning his doctorate at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, he began his career at ABB, where he held various management positions. Prof. Dr. Axel Stepken is an honorary professor at the Technical University of Munich.

He succeeds Dr. Jens Riedl, Investment Partner at Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), who has stepped down from the Supervisory Board effective as of the end of the upcoming Annual General Meeting.

“With Axel Stepken, we welcome an internationally experienced industry expert who will be an excellent addition to our Supervisory Board, not only for his profound knowledge of the Asian region. We are very much looking forward to working together,” said Professor Dieter Kempf, chairman of the Supervisory Board of GEA Group. “The Supervisory Board wishes Jens Riedl all the best for the future and thanks him for his extraordinary commitment and outstanding cooperation on the board and its committees.”