Bayer investor calls for CEO replacement
CEO Baumann given a new contract in 2020 that runs until 2024
Bayer investor Deka has called for CEO Werner Baumann to be replaced ahead of his scheduled departure, adding to mounting pressure on the German drugmaker. “Bayer needs a new strategic positioning, which cannot be credibly accomplished under Werner Baumann,” Ingo Speich, Head of Sustainability and Corporate Governance at Deka, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) newspaper in remarks published on Saturday.
The mutual funds firm is among Bayer’s 20 largest shareholders. “There is a window of opportunity for Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann to act before the annual general meeting at the end of April. He has to seize that opportunity, otherwise the pressure on him will increase as well,” Speich added. “Generally speaking, we are always open to a constructive dialogue with our stakeholders,” a Bayer spokesperson said, declining to comment specifically on the interview
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