The Supervisory Board of Daimler AG (ticker symbol DAI) on Wednesday elected a new Chairman at its constituent meeting following the virtual regular Annual Meeting on the 2020 financial year. Bernd Pischetsrieder succeeds Manfred Bischoff, who is stepping down from the Supervisory Board at his own request after 14 years as Chairman. Bischoff’s departure marks the end of an era. “It is fair to say that Manfred Bischoff has left his mark on a piece of German industrial history. This company is extremely well positioned for the future, and that is largely thanks to him,” said Ola Källenius in his speech at the virtual Annual Meeting. The Supervisory Board proposed Bernd Pischetsrieder as Bischoff’s successor in December 2020.
After his successful management career, Manfred Bischoff was appointed to the Supervisory Board of DaimlerChrysler, and in 2007, he took over the chairman’s role. He repeatedly helped the company to make groundbreaking strategic decisions which, among other things, paved the way for the return of the Mercedes-Benz brand to the top of the premium segment. In five decades of change, Bischoff was a pillar of support. To retain his services at the company he will be awarded the title of Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG.
The shareholders elected Elizabeth Centoni, Chief Strategy Officer and General Manager of Applications at Cisco Systems, Inc., Ben van Beurden, CEO Royal Dutch Shell plc, and Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, to the Supervisory Board by a large majority. They succeed Petraea Heynicke and Jürgen Hambrecht, who are also stepping down from the Supervisory Board along with Manfred Bischoff. The term of office of the newly elected members begins at the end of the Annual Meeting in 2021 and expires at the end of the Annual Meeting in 2025.
The shareholders approved the management’s proposals with an overwhelming majority and resolved, among other things, to distribute a dividend of €1.35 per share for the past financial year (2019: €0.90). The total dividend payout amounts to €1.4 billion (2019: €1.0 billion). The dividend will be paid out on April 7, 2021 – the third business day after the resolution of the Annual Meeting – to all shareholders who held shares in Daimler AG on March 31, 2021.
The actions of the members of the Board of Management were ratified by 97.94% of the share capital represented at the Annual Meeting and those of the Supervisory Board by 95.17%. The virtual Annual Meeting was followed by more than 4,000 viewers on the internet. A total of 57.21% of the share capital was represented.
The main results at a glance:
| Dividend per share | €1.35 |
| Dividend payout | €1.4 billion |
| Ratification of Board of Management actions | 97.94% |
| Ratification of Supervisory Board actions | 95.17% |
| Share capital represented | 57.21% |
SOURCE: Daimler
