A planned move by Tui AG to elevate joint chief executive Peter Long to the head of the travel group’s supervisory board in 2016 has been shelved.
The role change was initially planned as part of the merger between Tui Travel and Tui AG and was due to take place at next year’s AGM in February.
Instead, a procedure has been initiated for proposing that Long be elected as a supervisory board member in view of his “special accomplishments” and “the strong interest in his continued involvement in the implementation of the merger”.
But he must be elected on the basis of a proposal by shareholders who hold 25% of the voting rights in Tui AG. Two of the group’s largest shareholder groups have already stated that they will support the proposal.
The change came today with the company saying that it needed to follow corporate governance codes in the UK and Germany.
The codes recommend that a direct appointment of an executive board chairman to the chairmanship of the supervisory board not be carried out or only be carried out as an exception that has to be justified to the general meeting, Tui AG said.
Fritz Joussen will become the sole executive board chairman of Tui AG, as planned.
Meanwhile, Timothy Martin Powell will also leave the supervisory board due to the expiry of his term of office. He was on the supervisory board of Tui Travel for many years and a longstanding chairman of its audit committee.
The terms of office of supervisory board members Valerie Gooding, Janis Kong and Coline McConville will continue until the 2020 AGM.
Klaus Mangold and Sir Mike Hodgkinson are due to be re-elected as supervisory board members and are expected to continue as chairman and deputy chairman for a “reasonable period of time”.
Mangold said: “The supervisory board of Tui AG has laid the groundwork for a long-term management structure.
“Under the leadership of Fritz Joussen, the management board will continue on its successful course and remain committed to the implementation of the initiated strategy.”