DGAP-News: Hess AG / Key word(s): Legal Matter/Change of Personnel
Hess AG: Management Changes at Hess AG
21.01.2013 / 21:47
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Management Changes at Hess AG
- Previous Executive Directors removed and Dr. Till Becker appointed as
Executive Director
- Suspicions regarding breaches of accounting regulations to be
comprehensively investigated in a prompt special audit
Villingen-Schwenningen, January 21, 2013 - Effective immediately, the
Supervisory Board of Hess AG has removed the Executive Directors of the
Company, Mr. Christoph Hess, CEO and Mr. Peter Ziegler, CFO. This decision
was adopted unanimously at today's extraordinary meeting of the Supervisory
Board. Internal audits of Hess AG had resulted in suspicions of breaches of
accounting regulations with knowledge of the Executive Directors. These
could have possibly led to an overstatement of the Company's financial
position, net assets, and results of operations in years 2011 and 2012.
The Supervisory Board called for a prompt economic and legal special audit
to be conducted by independent external auditors and lawyers. The purpose
of this special audit is to determine the exact extent of possible damages
for the Company and to determine possible existing claims.
At the same time, the Supervisory Board appointed Dr. Till Becker, 55, as
new Executive Director, effective immediately. Mr. Becker will promptly
assume his position in Villingen-Schwenningen. Mr. Becker, who holds a
doctorate in law, was a consultant and interim manager at several companies
in the automobile, consumer goods, and energy industries over the last few
years and has held numerous supervisory board mandates. Prior to this, he
was a manager at DaimlerChrysler AG for more than 20 years, with his last
position being that of Group Executive Manager for the Northeast Asia
region. He has lengthy and international management experience. Tim van
Delden, Chairman of the Supervisory Board stated: 'With Mr. Dr. Becker, we
have been able to attract an outstanding and experienced manager with an
international profile. We are confident that Mr. Dr. Becker, with his
experience and resolute manner, will be successful, together with the
Supervisory Board, in expediting a clarification and with that return the
company to smoother waters'.
For queries:
Sandra Haus, Head of Corporate Communications
Tel: +49 7721 920 466
Fax: +49 7721 920 771466
Mobil: +49 151 14275119
mailto: Sandra.Haus@hess.eu
About Hess
Hess AG (Ticker symbol: HEAG) headquartered in Villingen-Schwenningen,
Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is an internationally established supplier of
exterior and architectural lighting with its subsidiaries Vulkan GmbH and
emdelight GmbH which was acquired in March 2012. Energy-efficient
luminaries using modular LED technology are a focus of Hess AG. Hess
products are sold in more 50 countries worldwide, with a growing presence
in the main lighting markets of Europe, Asia, Middle East, and North
America. The company has three manufacturing sites in Germany and the USA.
In addition, Hess has final assembly capacity in Japan and China. In the
first half of 2012, Hess employed 360 employees on average. Further
information can be found at www.hess.eu.
End of Corporate News
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21.01.2013 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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Language: English
Company: Hess AG
LantwattenstraÃe 22
78050 Villingen-Schwenningen
Germany
Phone: +49 7721 920 0
Fax: +49 7721 920 250
E-mail: hess@hess.eu
Internet: www.hess.eu
ISIN: DE000A0N3EJ6
WKN: A0N3EJ
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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199528 21.01.2013
DGAP-News: Hess AG: Management Changes at Hess AG
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