- Christian Kullmann's CEO contract extended through 2030; formal approval set for the Supervisory Board meeting on June 3 (AGM).
- Michael Rauch is appointed Chief Financial Officer and will start at Evonik on May 1.
- Rauch's background includes 16 years at Henkel, interim CEO at Selecta, CFO/CEO roles at CompuGroup Medical and CFO at Douglas.
- Dr. Claus Rettig will relinquish interim finance duties and refocus full-time as head of Evonik's Asia-Pacific region.
Leadership changes
Evonik's Supervisory Board unanimously extended Christian Kullmann's contract as CEO through 2030 and appointed Michael Rauch as Chief Financial Officer; both decisions were taken at an extraordinary meeting and the formal contract extension will be confirmed at the Supervisory Board meeting on June 3, the day of the Annual General Meeting.
Current roles and transitions
Kullmann has been with the company since 2003, served as Chief Strategy Officer from 2014 and has led the Management Board since May 2017; he has also acted as interim CFO since September. Dr. Claus Rettig, who had been handling operational finance tasks since September, will return to focus fully on his role as head of the Asia‑Pacific region.
Incoming CFO background
Michael Rauch, who holds an MBA, will start at Evonik on May 1; his background includes 16 years at Henkel in strategy and finance roles across Germany, Sweden and China, interim CEO at Selecta AG, five years at CompuGroup Medical (first as CFO, then CEO) and two years as CFO at Douglas, together with experience serving capital markets.
Next steps
Rauch will introduce himself to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting, and the Supervisory Board will formalize Kullmann's contract extension at its June 3 meeting.
