Germany's Ceconomy Is Likely to Appoint Interim CEO

   By Ulrike Dauer and Kim Richters 
 

Ceconomy AG (CEC.XE) is likely to name an interim chief executive after a board meeting to decide on the possible early exit of its current CEO on Thursday, several people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The German retailer's supervisory board is likely to replace the company's current CEO Joern Werner with a temporary manager while looking for a long-term successor, the people said.

When announcing the meeting late Tuesday, Ceconomy didn't give a reason for the move. Mr. Werner has only been serving as CEO since March.

According to the people, supervisory board member Bernhard Duettmann could step in as interim CEO. He previously served as temporary chief financial officer for the company after Ceconomy's previous CEO Pieter Haas and CFO Mark Frese stepped down one year ago.

Mr. Werner couldn't be reached for a comment, according to a Ceconomy spokeswoman, and referred to Tuesday's statement.

Shortly after Mr. Werner took office earlier this year, the company, known for its electronic retail brands and stores MediaMarkt and Saturn, approved a restructuring program to cut costs and reduce its workforce.

A potential early exit of Mr. Werner could thwart the restructuring, Bryan Garnier analyst Clement Genelot said.

"Beyond the transformation plan, we wonder how Ceconomy will be able to catch up on such a governance slippage with respect to investors after a year in 2018 that was already very complicated," he said.

At 1527 GMT, shares in Ceconomy trade 2.7% lower at EUR4.99.

Write to Kim Richters at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 16, 2019 11:55 ET (15:55 GMT)

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