Henkel Annual Report 2019
• Internationality
The Company
Shares and bonds
Corporate governance
Combined management report
Consolidated financial statements
Further information
external candidates are considered for future appointment,
The international activities of the corporation in both mature
and emerging markets should be appropriately reflected in
the composition of the Management Board. Henkel there-
fore strives to ensure that several members of different
nationalities or with international backgrounds (who have
spent several years working abroad or supervising foreign
business activities, for example) are included on the
Management Board.
• Gender
A reasonable proportion of women shall be represented in the
Management Board. Henkel therefore strives to ensure that
at least one woman is a member of the Management Board.
• Seniority
Change and continuity are two issues that must be taken
into reasonable account when composing the Management
Board. Henkel therefore aims to include members with
different levels of seniority on the Management Board. Irre-
spective of this requirement, members of the Management
Board should generally not be older than 63.
Implementation progress
We believe that these aforementioned requirements were met
in full in the reporting period.
Overall, the Management Board, which includes one woman,
has the knowledge, skills and professional experience needed to
properly and effectively perform its duties. Several members of
the Management Board have international business experience
with both emerging and mature markets. No individual on the
Management Board exceeds the specified maximum age.
Succession planning
Together with the Management Board, the Shareholders’ Com-
mittee and the Supervisory Board of Henkel Management AG
ensure the long-term succession planning with regard to Man-
agement Board composition. Although both in-house and
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every effort is made to select candidates from within the orga-
nization who have proven their aptitude for such duties.
Long-term succession planning takes account of the corporate
strategy and the aforementioned diversity considerations. Key
elements of the systematic management development process
include:
• Early identification of suitable candidates.
• Systematic development of managers by giving them tasks
involving increasing levels of responsibility and in different
areas of the corporation, regions and functions, where possible.
• Proven ambition to successfully shape strategy and opera-
tions; strong leadership skills.
• Role model in implementing our corporate values.
Each year, the members of the first management level below
the Management Board undergo corresponding assessment,
during which the issue of potentially taking on Management
Board responsibility and measures to secure succession are
also discussed. Management potential within the individual
business units is also discussed.
Diversity considerations / Objectives governing
Supervisory Board composition
Bearing in mind the recommendations of GCGC 2019, and taking
into account the specific situation and global reach of the cor-
poration’s activities in both industrial and consumer business
areas, the Supervisory Board reviewed the objectives governing
its composition at its meeting in December 2019, and updated
them as described below. When proposing candidates to the
Annual General Meeting for both routine re-election and
replacement election, the Supervisory Board considers these
objectives, whereby the particular regulations of the 1976
Codetermination Act must be observed with regard to the
employee representative candidates.