Dr. Christian Friege appointed to CEWE Board of Management

CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA was informed by Alexander Neumüller, the beneficiary of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Foundation and heir of the company founder, of his decision to appoint Dr. Christian Friege to the Board of Management of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Foundation upon expiry of his current contract. As the personally liable partner, the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Foundation manages the business of the listed CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA. With this appointment, Neumüller – as previously – is exercising his special right as a beneficiary of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Foundation to appoint a member of the Board of Management.

As previously reported, the CEWE Board of Trustees announced, in an unusual circumstance, not to renew Dr. Friege’s employment contract at the end of the year, citing a lack of support for diversity initiatives. CEWE then announced the diversity progress made under Dr. Friege’s stewardship. Further, the Supervisory Board of CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA and the founding family, which is the company’s largest shareholder with 27.1% of the shares, had voted in favor of extending the contract.

Neumüller justifies this step by stating the founder’s family wishes to protect the interests of shareholders, employees and customers in this way. Dr. Friege has accepted this appointment and will thus continue to serve on the Board of Management beyond Dec. 31, 2022.

The German trade publication Foto Contact reproduced a letter from Alexander Neumüller to the CEWE employees, where he describes the reasoning behind the unusual move.