Rolf Hollander departs as CEWE chairman

GaryPageau ,
Dr. Rolf Hollander is out at CEWE

The Management Board of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Stiftung announces the vote on Dr. Rolf Hollander‘s membership of the Board of Trustees for a further four years and on his function as Chairman of the Board of Trustees did not reach the majority required in accordance with the statutes.

This is a turnaround from the announcement in early December that the board had renewed Dr. Hollander’s contract for another four years. At that time, “The Board of Management of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Stiftung is having legal concerns examined with regard to the conformity of these decisions with the Articles of Association.

The board had announced then it had doubts about the conformity of this vote with the company statutes and it was obliged to have the vote legally reviewed. Two legal opinions have now independently come to the clear and unquestionable conclusion that the required majority in the Board of Trustees was not reached, the company said, which renders the re-election of Dr. Rolf Hollander to the Board of Trustees is “therefore null and void.” The company did not say which statutes did not conform.

As a result, Dr. Rolf Hollander is from Jan. 1, 2023, no longer a member of the Board of Trustees of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Stiftung and consequently no longer its Chairman. The Management Board of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Stiftung is therefore obliged to inform the competent state foundation authority of the Office for Regional Development Weser-Ems. The Board of Management asks this authority to ensure the Board of Trustees of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Stiftung is again properly staffed and thus remains capable of acting.

Yvonne Rostock was named Chairwoman of the Management Board of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Foundation and becomes CEO on March 1, 2023.

The company noted CEWE’s leadership would be unified under Yvonne Rostock as the new CEO on March 1, 2023, “will provide the opportunity to restore unity between the boards at CEWE.”

In an internal communication to the company staff, the Management Board regrets that Dr. Hollander’s leaving is taking place under such circumstances after more than 30 years of service to CEWE: “Dr. Rolf Hollander has played a decisive role in shaping the digitalization of CEWE and has shaped our company into a model company for our industry. We are grateful to him for this. Nevertheless, the Management Board has the obligation to enforce the rules – be it company statutes or the law – at CEWE. We are fulfilling this duty.”

Dr. Hollander’s departure is the latest announcement in series of management changes for the leading photo company in Europe. In mid-December, the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Stiftung announced Dr. Christian Friege, chairman of the Board of Management of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Stiftung, was leaving the company at the end of the year “at his own request ” Dr. Friege will be taking on a new professional challenge, the statement said. He will not, as originally planned, be appointed to the Board of Management by the beneficiary Alexander Neumüller.

Back in April, in a rare display of public disclosure, the board of trustees of CEWE Color claimed Dr. Friege  “massively obstructed” diversity and the appointment of a woman as a board member, which led to his contract not being renewed. Later that month, Neumüller, as the beneficiary of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Foundation and heir of the company founder, announced the appointment of Dr. Friege to the Board of Management of the Neumüller CEWE COLOR Foundation upon the expiry of his current contract.