Knorr-Bremse Supervisory Board Clears the Way for Successor to Prof. Klaus Mangold

The Supervisory Board of Knorr-Bremse AG today unanimously proposed Dr. Reinhard Ploss for election as a new Supervisory Board member at the Annual General Meeting on May 24, 2022. The Board intends to elect Dr. Ploss as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at its inaugural meeting after the Annual General Meeting. This new appointment is necessary as Prof. Mangold is stepping down as planned from his position as Supervisory Board Chairman as of the Annual General Meeting and resigning from the Supervisory Board.

Prof. Klaus Mangold, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said, “We are now clearing the way for a successful future for Knorr-Bremse AG. The change of leadership on the Supervisory Board has been in planning for a long time. Thanks to his decades of expertise from leading an international, high-tech company, Dr. Ploss is eminently suitable for the heavy responsibility of this role at Knorr-Bremse AG.”

Dr. Ploss will resign from his position as Chief Executive Officer of Infineon Technologies AG at the end of March, as he had already decided previously.

Prof. Mangold has been a member and Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2018, the year in which Knorr-Bremse AG successfully went public. He had originally planned to retire from his position with effect from the 2021 Annual General Meeting, though he changed this plan after the unexpected passing of Heinz Hermann Thiele roughly one year ago. Following a request of the Supervisory Board and the Thiele family for continuity in the Supervisory Board’s leadership, he offered himself for election as the Supervisory Board Chairman again so that the company could continue drawing on his deep knowledge of Knorr-Bremse, especially during that transition period.

Dr. Theodor Weimer, Deputy Chairman of the Knorr-Bremse AG Supervisory Board, said, “The Supervisory Board thanks Prof. Mangold for his far-sighted leadership, personal dedication over the years, and vast sense of responsibility toward Knorr-Bremse AG. Not only we Supervisory Board members, but also the entire company is very indebted to him. He has always acted with great responsibility as Supervisory Board Chairman, especially in the time following the abrupt passing of Heinz Hermann Thiele, and remained at the head of the Board. He therefore put the welfare of the company above his own personal plans for his life.”

Supervisory Board member Dr. Thomas Enders will also be resigning from his position with effect from this year’s Annual General Meeting due to other important obligations and will leave the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board will pass a resolution about a replacement for him by the end of March.

Please find the résumé of Dr. Reinhard Ploss here.