CEO of Germany's Cewe 'massively obstructed' diversity -board

CEWE Stiftung & Co KGaA

01/04/2022 19:29

FRANKFURT, April 1 (Reuters) - Christian Friege, chief
executive of German photo service provider Cewe  CWCG.DE ,
obstructed diversity and the appointment of a woman as a board
member, the company's board of trustees said on Friday.
    The announcement came in an unusual and harshly worded
statement that sought to clarify a decision announced in March
not to reappoint Friege for unspecified differing opinions over
corporate management.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2VK0OU
    "Christian Friege's failure to recognize and implement the
socially and internally important issue of women on the Board of
Management and in other management functions is, in the opinion
of Chairman Rolf Hollander, an inexcusable omission," Friday's
statement said.
    Friege did not promote diversity or the process of naming a
woman to the board, "but on the contrary massively obstructed
it", the statement said.
    Friege did not respond to an email and a LinkedIn message
seeking comment. 
    A spokesperson for CEWE said the management board that
Friege chairs does not make management board appointments, and
that four women had been promoted to executive leadership
positions in the past few years. 
    In Friday's statement, the board of trustees described
Friege's work at the German small-cap company as "acceptable to
good" overall, but two-thirds of the members of the board of
trustees were "firmly convinced" Friege didn't enjoy the trust
for a reappointment.

 (Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Leslie Adler)
 ((Tom.Sims@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220 133 645;))