The Supervisory Board of Getronics today announced that its Board of Management is stepping down with immediate effect. The decision was taken by the Supervisory Board after consultation with the Board of Management and is based on a difference of opinion on how to manage the Company.
Peter van Voorst has been working for Getronics and its predecessors since 1969. He joined the Board of Management in 1985 and became Chairman of the Board of Management and CEO in 2001. Jan Docter joined Getronics in 1988 and has been
Chief Financial Officer since then.
With immediate effect, Axel Rückert (56) and Klaas Wagenaar (44) will act as the Board of Management, and will be Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively. The Supervisory Board will propose the election of Mr Rückert and Mr Wagenaar to the Board of Management at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 9 April 2003.
The proposed board members support the Company's recent invitation to tender to the bondholders, made last week, and regard this offer as a cornerstone of the financial restructuring.
Both Axel Rückert and Klaas Wagenaar are top executives with impressive track records in the multinational ICT sector and experienced managers of large-scale financial restructuring and recovery operations. They will team up to take the
Company forward. As Chairman of the Board of Management, Axel Rückert will be responsible for customers, strategy and operations. As Vice-Chairman, Klaas Wagenaar will focus on the financial revitalisation of the Company and related
activities. Mr Rückert - born in Germany, but a resident of France for the past 25 years - brings a wide-ranging international perspective to the Company. In the past, he headed major strategic programmes at Danone , Bull and Philips Consumer Communication. Mr Wagenaar was involved in the financial restructuring and recovery programmes of Cap Gemini , Baan Company and Cebeco Group.
