Successors appointed to the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp AG

• Wilfried von Rath will take over as the new Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of thyssenkrupp AG on April 1, 2025

• Dr. Axel Hamann will become the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of thyssenkrupp AG on May 1, 2025

At its extraordinary meeting today, the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG appointed Wilfried von Rath as successor to Oliver Burkhard as the new Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director, and Dr. Axel Hamann as the new Chief Financial Officer of thyssenkrupp AG. Oliver Burkhard announced last November that he intended to step down from the Executive Board after many years as CHRO in order to focus exclusively on his duties as CEO of thyssenkrupp’s Marine Systems (tkMS) segment, and in particular to vigorously drive the spin-off of tkMS decided by the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp AG. Dr. Axel Hamann will succeed Dr. Jens Schulte, who has been CFO since June 2024 and has also been the acting CHRO since February 2025. Jens Schulte asked the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG last December to terminate his appointment to the Executive Board by mutual consent due to his wish to move to Deutsche Börse AG. 

Prof. Siegfried Russwurm, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG, notes: “thyssenkrupp AG is undergoing a comprehensive process of realignment – both in terms of the Group's performance and its portfolio. With Axel Hamann as our new CFO and Wilfried von Rath as our future CHRO, we are gaining two highly qualified individuals who have proven their ability to transform organizations. Both have extensive experience at leading listed companies and are an ideal addition to our Executive Board team. Together, the new Executive Board will further enhance the Group’s performance and master the diverse challenges moving ahead.”

Wilfried von Rath, an experienced HR professional, will join thyssenkrupp on April 1, 2025. He was last Managing Partner of Lynius GmbH, a restructuring and strategy consultancy based in Munich. Prior to that, he served for more than 10 years as Member of the Management Board for Human Resources at Volkswagen Passenger Cars in Wolfsburg, Member of the Executive Board for Human Resources and Labor Director at MAN Energy Solutions in Augsburg, and Board Member for Human Resources at Volkswagen Slovakia a.s. in Bratislava.  His board activities were preceded by various HR functions within Volkswagen AG, such as Vice President Group HR Top Management including Head of Management Development at the VW Group, as well as Managing Director of Volkswagen Coaching GmbH. The graduate in psychology began his career as Senior Consultant Human Resources at Lufthansa Consulting GmbH in Cologne.

Dr. Axel Hamann will move to thyssenkrupp from Bayer AG in Leverkusen effective May 1, 2025. His most recent position at Bayer was as Head of Global M&A and Head of Internal Audit & Risk Management. Prior to that, Hamann held various functions for Bayer AG, including CFO of the Pharmaceuticals Division, Project Manager for the IPO of what is now the chemicals group Covestro, and CEO and CFO of the pharmaceuticals and agriculture group in Türkiye. After studying law and business administration at the universities of Bayreuth, Würzburg and Cologne, he began his career at the law firm Hengeler Mueller in Düsseldorf.