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MAN chief executive resigns amid woes

Published: 23 Nov 09 17:36 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20091123-23469.html

German engineering group MAN, struggling from the downturn and reeling from a bribery scandal, announced the resignation on Monday of its chief executive with immediate effect.

In a statement, the company said Hakan Samuelsson, a 58-year-old Swede who had run the company since 2005, was "convinced that there should be a fresh start at the highest level of the company."

MAN said it had appointed Georg Pachta-Reyhofen as interim replacement.

One of Europe's leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles, engines and mechanical engineering equipment, MAN employs around 49,500 people worldwide, last year posting sales of €15 billion ($22 billion).

The firm has been battered by the global economic crisis, recently announcing that its net profit had collapsed in the third quarter to just €6 million from €302 million a year earlier.

It has also been embroiled in a scandal that has seen the firm suspend two senior managers because of suspicions that it made bribes in order to win contracts.

AFP (news@thelocal.de)

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09:19 November 24, 2009 by berlinski
And how much was his "Abfindung" for overseeing all this disaster?
09:46 November 24, 2009 by Portnoy
Berlinski, Hakan Samuelsson is one of the best things to happen to MAN and had his plans not crossed with alternate plans from Kaiser Piech or Swedish nationalism, he would have done even more. But don't let the truth get in the way of your fauxrage.
15:58 November 24, 2009 by berlinski
Portnoy, "MAN, struggling from the downturn and reeling from a bribery scandal". Is this not the responsibility of the man at the top where the "Buck" stops?
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