Press release
Annual General Meeting 2023
- Ralf Hartings and Friedrich Joussen elected to Supervisory Board
- Martin Mildner steps down from role
- Supervisory Board expanded from four to five members
Berlin, 13 July 2023. Tele Columbus AG (ISIN: DE000TCAG172, WKN: TCAG17, “Tele Columbus”, “the Company” or “the Group”), one of Germany’s leading fibre cable network operators, today held its Annual General Meeting in Berlin and elected two new Supervisory Board members. Martin Mildner, the previous Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, stepped down from the Supervisory Board on 27 May 2023, effective from the end of the Annual General Meeting 2023. Ralf Hartings and Friedrich Joussen were appointed to the expanded Supervisory Board of the Company effective from the end of the Annual General Meeting.
Hartings and Joussen are respected experts in the telecommunications market. Since 2023, Hartings has been a member of the Management Board of United Internet AG, where he is responsible for Finance & Controlling, Risk Management, Internal Audit, Legal Affairs, M&A and Investment Management. He has over 20 years of international experience in the IT and telecommunications sector, having held roles with the likes of Vodafone, Verizon Wireless, AOL and P&I AG. Prior to his current position, Hartings’ role within the United Internet Group was as CFO of 1&1 Mail & Media Applications SE, where he headed up Finance and Human Resources from April 2021.
Joussen currently works as an external consultant for United Internet AG. Before that, he spent nine years as CEO of the TUI Group between 2013 and 2022. Joussen held a variety of roles at the Mannesmann Mobilfunk Group, later the Vodafone Group, before serving as the CEO of Vodafone Deutschland GmbH between 2005 and 2012. Between 2017 and 2021, he was also the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Sixt SE, a listed company.
Marc van’t Noordende, Christoph Oppenauer and Annelies van Zutphen continue to serve as members of the Supervisory Board, with van’t Noordende in the position of Chairman and Ralf Hartings taking on the role of Deputy Chairman. The number of Supervisory Board members has therefore been increased from four to five. The additional expertise offered by the two new members is of great benefit to the Company. Going forward, the Supervisory Board and Management Board aim to establish a Supervisory Board with six members to better represent the interests of the shareholders in accordance with their shareholding ratio. The sixth Supervisory Board position will remain vacant for the time being until a suitable candidate can be found.
Marc van’t Noordende, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Tele Columbus AG: “Ralf Hartings and Friedrich Joussen are two outstanding additions to the Supervisory Board of Tele Columbus AG. They fit the desired skills profile perfectly, and their extensive expertise reflects the goals that have been set for the board’s composition.”
