The Supervisory Board

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The Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board is composed of nine members, who are elected by the annual shareholders’ meeting. The term of office of Supervisory Board members is five years; they are eligible for re-election at the end of their terms. The Supervisory Board elects its Chairman from among its own ranks; the term of office of the Supervisory Board Chairman is coincident with that of the Supervisory Board.

The Supervisory Board advises the Management Board and monitors the work of the Management Board. It holds at least four meetings a year. In case of necessity, it meets without the Management Board in attendance. Meetings may be held and resolutions adopted also by way of written correspondence, telephone calls, telexes, or other forms of telecommunication. As a general rule, the Supervisory Board adopts resolutions by a simple majority of the members voting on the resolution; in case of a tie, the Management Board Chairman casts the deciding vote.

The Supervisory Board deliberates on the company’s business developments, planning, strategy, and significant capital expenditures at regular intervals. The Supervisory Board adopts the separate financial statements of Axel Springer AG and approves the consolidated financial statements of the Group. It regularly assesses the efficiency of its work by means of a questionnaire  Please refer to the Report of the Supervisory Board for specifics on the activities of the Supervisory Board in the 2011 reporting year.

The members of the Supervisory Board are:

  • Dr. Giuseppe Vita (Chairman)
  • Dr. h. c. Friede Springer (Vice Chairwoman)
  • Dr. Gerhard Cromme
  • Oliver Heine
  • Klaus Krone
  • Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller
  • Prof. Dr. Wolf Lepenies
  • Michael Lewis
  • Dr. Michael Otto

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Giuseppe Vita, who is simultaneously the Chairman of the Audit Committee, amongst other things satisfies the requirements of expert knowledge and independence within the meaning of Section 100 (5) AktG (financial expert).

The terms of office of the current members of the Supervisory Board will expire upon the conclusion of the annual shareholders’ meeting in 2014.