At the Annual General Meeting of May 4, 2021, Klaus-Michael Kuehne, Dr. Joerg Wolle, Karl Gernandt, Dominik Buergy, Dr. Renato Fassbind, David Kamenetzky, Hauke Stars and Dr. Martin C. Wittig were re-elected to the Board of Directors for a one-year term. Tobias B. Staehelin was newly elected to the Board of Directors for a one-year term. Dr. Joerg Wolle was re-elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for a one-year term.
On the closing date, the Board of Directors comprised eight members. Their biographical particulars are as follows:
All members of the Board of Directors are non-executive directors, none of them serves as a member of the Management Board and with the exception of the Honorary Chairman, Klaus-Michael Kuehne, none of them has important business connections with Kuehne+Nagel.
The Articles of Association (AoA) of Kuehne + Nagel International AG limit the number of mandates that members of the Board of Directors may hold outside the Kuehne+Nagel Group. Article 21 of the AoA limits the maximum number of permitted additional mandates of members of the Board of Directors to 25 board memberships, whereof no more than four may be held in stock-listed companies. Mandates in companies, which are controlled by Kuehne+Nagel or which control Kuehne+Nagel, are not subject to this limitation. In addition, members of the Board of Directors may hold no more than 25 mandates at Kuehne+Nagel’s request, and no more than 25 mandates in associations, charitable organisations, foundations, trusts, and employee welfare foundations.
The General Meeting elects the members of the Board of Directors as well as the members of the Compensation Committee individually. The General Meeting elects one of the members of the Board of Directors as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The duration of tenure of the Chairman, the members of the Board of Directors, and the members of the Compensation Committee ends at the conclusion of the next ordinary General Meeting. Re-election is possible.
The Chairman and the members of the Board of Directors, each, as well as the members of the Compensation Committee are elected by the General Meeting. The Board of Directors constitutes itself and appoints the Vice Chairman, the Chairman of the Nomination and Compensation Committee, the members of the Nomination Committee as well as the Chairman and the members of the Audit and the Chairman’s Committee.
The scope of responsibilities of the Board of Directors, the Chairman and the Vice Chairman are stipulated in the Articles of Association, the Organisational Rules, and the Committee Rules, in particular, to the extent not already determined by applicable law. In accordance with the Articles of Association and Swiss corporate law, the main tasks and responsibilities of the Board of Directors, as further defined in the Organisational Rules, comprise the following:
Dr. Joerg Wolle is the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Klaus-Michael Kuehne is Honorary Chairman of Kuehne + Nagel International AG. The entire Board of Directors, however, is responsible for decisions on such above-mentioned aspects that are of significant importance to the Group.
Certain tasks of the Board of Directors have been delegated to the Chairman and comprise the following:
The Board of Directors usually convenes for a two-day meeting quarterly with the Management Board being represented by the CEO and the CFO. The Board of Directors can invite other members of the Management Board to attend these meetings at its discretion. The Board of Directors has appointed a Secretary, who is not (and does not need to be) a member of the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors takes decisions during the meetings or by written circular resolutions. All Committees meet as often as required but usually quarterly.
The Audit Committee consists of three to five non-executive, predominantly independent members of the Board of Directors elected for a period of one year. Re-election as a member of the Audit Committee is possible. Members of the Management Board cannot be members of the Audit Committee.
As part of the regular contact between the Audit Committee and both the internal and external auditors, the quality and effectiveness of the internal control mechanisms and the risk assessments are reviewed and evaluated continuously on the basis of written reports of the internal audit department as well as of management letters of the external auditors based on their interim audits. Furthermore, a regular contact with the external auditors throughout the year enables the Audit Committee to obtain knowledge of problem areas at an early stage. This allows proposing the timely introduction of any corrective actions to the Management Board.
Dr. Martin C. Wittig was the Chairman of the Audit Committee on the closing date, and Karl Gernandt, Dominik Buergy and Dr. Renato Fassbind were members.
The Audit Committee holds at a minimum four meetings a year, usually quarterly before the publication of the financial results. The Honorary Chairman can take part in the meetings as an advisor. Unless otherwise determined by the Audit Committee, the CEO, the CFO and the auditor in charge take part in all meetings, whilst the Head of Internal Audit, and the Group General Counsel or the Chief Compliance Officer, each, are invited as advisors whenever needed. In 2021, the auditor in charge attended three meetings of the Audit Committee. The Committee’s Chairman informs the other members of the Board of Directors about the topics discussed in detail and decisions to be submitted to the entire Board of Directors for approval.
The main responsibilities of the Audit Committee with regards to the external auditors are:
With regards to the internal audit function of the Group, the Audit Committee has the following responsibilities:
With regards to the tasks of the Management Board the Audit Committee has the following responsibilities:
The Chairman’s Committee consists of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman and the Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors for the period of their tenure in the Board of Directors. The Chairman’s Committee advises the Board of Directors on the financial performance of the Group, its economic development and measures of optimisation as well as of any other significant developments within the Group. In its advisory role, the Chairman’s Committee reports to the Board of Directors for decisions.
The Chairman’s Committee has the following responsibilities:
On the closing date, Dr. Joerg Wolle was the Chairman of the Chairman’s Committee and Klaus-Michael Kuehne and Karl Gernandt were members.
On invitation of the Chairman, the Chairman’s Committee convenes as often as business requires but typically four times a year, once each quarter. The Committee invites Members of the Management Board at its discretion, being usually represented by the CEO and the CFO, to attend these meetings.
The Board of Directors is informed by the Chairman of the Chairman’s Committee about all issues discussed, in particular, about all topics that need approval of the Board of Directors.
The Nomination and Compensation Committee consists of two to six members of the Board of Directors elected at the Annual General Meeting (Compensation Committee) on the one hand and designated by the Board of Directors (Nomination Committee) on the other hand, each for a period of one year and meeting regularly as one joint Committee.
On the closing date December 31, 2021, Karl Gernandt was the Chairman of the Nomination and Compensation Committee; Klaus-Michael Kuehne and Hauke Stars were members.
On invitation of the Chairman, the Nomination and Compensation Committee convenes as often as business requires but at least three times a year, usually quarterly. Members of the Management Board can take part in the Nomination and Compensation Committee meetings by invitation.
The Compensation Committee supports the Board of Directors with the determination and validation of the remuneration policy, defines the remuneration concepts, and the principles of remuneration for the members of the Board of Directors and the Management Board. The principles of remuneration, post-employment benefits and share-based compensations are reviewed annually. The Nomination and Compensation Committee discusses the amounts of compensation for each member of the Board of Directors individually, evaluates the performance of each member of the Management Board and recommends their remuneration. The General Meeting approves the maximum total remuneration of the Boards.
The Nomination and Compensation Committee has the following responsibilities:
The Nomination and Compensation Committee develops guidelines and criteria for the selection of candidates and reviews new candidates to ensure competent staffing of the Management Board.
The Chairman of the Nomination and Compensation Committee informs the Board of Directors about all issues discussed, in particular, about all topics that need approval by the Board of Directors.
| Board and committees | Board of Directors | Audit Committee | Chairman's Committee | Nomination and Compensation Committee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of meetings in 2021 | 61 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| Approximate duration of each meeting | 4 hours | 3 hours | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Klaus-Michael Kuehne | 6 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| Dr. Joerg Wolle | 6 | 3 | 11 | 3 |
| Karl Gernandt | 6 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| Dominik Buergy | 6 | 5 | – | – |
| Dr. Renato Fassbind | 6 | 5 | – | – |
| David Kamenetzky | 6 | – | – | – |
| Tobias B. Staehelin 2 | 4 | – | – | – |
| Hauke Stars | 6 | – | – | 3 |
| Dr. Martin C. Wittig | 6 | 5 | – | – |
1 Thereof two extraordinary meetings.
2 Member of the Board of Directors as of May 4, 2021.
The Board of Directors executes the non-transferable and inalienable duties of the ultimate management of the Group. As far as the non-transferable and inalienable duties of the Board of Directors are not concerned, the Chairman of the Board of Directors overlooks the responsibilities of the assigned members of the Management Board of the Kuehne+Nagel Group. As per the Organisational Rules the responsibilities and competences relating to the operational management are transferred to the Management Board. The Management Board is responsible for the development, execution, and supervision of the day-to-day operations of the Group and the Group companies to the extent they are not incumbent on the Annual General Meeting, the Statutory Auditor, the Board of Directors, or the Chairman of the Board of Directors by applicable law, by the Articles of Association, or by the Organisational Rules. The Organisational Rules define which businesses can be approved by the Management Board and which ones require the approval of the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Board of Directors pursuant to approval requirements based on the extent and nature of the respective business.
The Management Board informs the Board of Directors on a regular and timely basis about the course of business primarily by means of a comprehensive financial management information system (MIS) report, which provides monthly worldwide consolidated results by segment and country including comparative actual, budgeted and prior-year figures as well as consolidated Balance Sheet and Cash Flow analysis.
The CEO and the CFO are generally invited to meetings of the Board of Directors, the Audit Committee as well as to the meetings of the Chairman’s Committee. Members of the Management Board can take part in Nomination and Compensation Committee meetings by invitation.
Risk management is a fundamental element of the Group’s business practice at all levels and covers different types of risks. At Group level, risk management is an integral part of the business planning and controlling processes. Material risks are monitored and regularly discussed with the Audit Committee or the Risk and Compliance Committee, the latter of which is consisting of the CEO and the CFO, the Chief Compliance Officer, the Corporate Head of Internal Audit and the Group General Counsel. The risk management system within the Group covers both financial and operational risks.
Risk management is part of the Internal Control System (ICS). Preventive and risk-reducing measures to control risks are pro-actively taken on different levels and are a fundamental part of the management responsibility. The finance and accounting department conducts, in collaboration with regional management and the Management Board, a risk assessment at least once a year. Details on risk management, including identified risks, are provided in the Status Report.
Integrity as key element of business behaviour creates trust amongst business partners. Therewith the Group is able to carry the responsibility as a reliable and successful business partner. The Chairman of the Board of Directors and the CEO issued an updated release of the KN Ethics & Compliance Programme in December 2021. This programme provides guidance for legal, regulatory, and other compliance requirements, as well as global communication and training initiatives. Ongoing compliance trainings continue to form key elements to ensure that members of all levels of the Group are and remain adequately knowledgeable and skilled to apply the KN Ethics & Compliance Programme in their day-to-day work. This includes top-down KN Code of Conduct live trainings as well as comprehensive live anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and anti-trust training initiatives. The Group encourages employees to raise concerns of potential violations of the KN Code of Conduct, amongst other channels, to a global 24/7 confidential reporting line enabling reports in a safe, confident and, if desired, anonymous manner.
The Kuehne+Nagel Group applies a risk-based integrity due diligence (IDD) process for evaluating business partners.
The Internal Audit function reports directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors about ongoing activities and audit reports and acts under the supervision of the Audit Committee. Kuehne+Nagel’s Internal Audit is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity that assists the Management to exercise their responsibilities efficiently by assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls.