Wijnand Donkers appointed CEO of Deutsche Annington
Bochum, April 27, 2007 – Wijnand Donkers (44 years) has been appointed CEO of Deutsche Annington Immobilien Group (“DAIG”) effective May 10th, 2007. He will succeed Georg Kulenkampff (54) who has resigned for personal reasons from TF and will step down from this office as CEO of DAIG.
Wijnand Donkers is a Dutch citizen who has worked and lived in Germany for several years and is fluent in German. He is moving back to Germany to join DAIG after an international management career of more than 20 years in the BP Group, where he held senior executive positions in various business units in Europe and North America. He is a highly experienced manager whose most recent position was Managing Director of BP Gas Marketing. He was also part of the team that managed the integration of Arco in 1999 and Head of Group Planning for the BP group during the merger with BP and Amoco in 1998.
Guy Hands, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DAIG and CEO of Terra Firma, said: “We are delighted to have recruited Wijnand Donkers as the new CEO of DAIG. With his formidable experience as a senior manager in a leading global enterprise, he brings excellent qualifications to his new role: first and foremost his proven ability to drive forward multi-billion operations, his track record in managing highly customer-oriented businesses, and his experience in building and leading successful management teams focused on delivering results. I am convinced that, as CEO with a long-term perspective and an international outlook, he will successfully direct Deutsche Annington into the next phase of its development as the leading German residential property group.”
Mr. Hands added: “I sincerely thank Georg Kulenkampff for his accomplishments during his time both at Terra Firma and as CEO of Deutsche Annington where he has initiated a successful redirection of the group. After completing this task we asked him to return to Terra Firma, but we respect his personal decision not to return to a private equity role but rather seek a further operational position in a different environment. We appreciate it that Georg will support the transition at DAIG.”
Wijnand Donkers, designated CEO of DAIG, commented: “I am looking forward to putting all my efforts into taking Deutsche Annington to the next level. With record earnings in 2006 and the Viterra integration completed, the company now has a unique operating platform. It is owned by very supportive long-term shareholders who have committed sufficient equity funding to enable the execution of an ambitious business plan, and who are targeting investment of EUR 1.5bn. per annum to acquire new flats. Those are perfect ingredients for further successful growth.”
Mr. Donkers added: “I am fully aware of the specific sensitivities around residential property in the German market. Under my direction, Deutsche Annington will remain a reliable partner for our tenants, their representatives and the municipalities we are operating in. The group will continue to be a long-term responsible manager and buyer of residential properties, and we do not plan a fundamental shift in strategy. Besides acquisitions, my particular focus will be on further improving both the operational quality of the group and customer satisfaction through effective services that provide real value to our tenants. I am personally committed to an open and continuous dialogue with all our stakeholders.”
Besides Wijnand Donkers, the Management Board of DAIG will consist of Manfred Püschel who will remain CFO of the group. Mr. Donkers intends to further strengthen the management team in particular by recruiting senior executives with a specific operational skillset to complement the existing experience in the team.
The appointment of Mr. Donkers comes after a strategic review of the business that has been conducted to consider how best to take the company forward after the successful integration of Viterra. Key conclusions have already been communicated over the past weeks. Most notably, DAIG will place more emphasis on increasing value by enhancing productivity and efficiency in rental management and on accelerating its aggressive growth plans, while at the same time reducing the focus on tenant privatisation. The latter had been an important cornerstone of DAIG’s strategy during the early phase of its development. The review has also highlighted a number of areas on the acquisition and operational side that the business will strengthen further in order to support an increased focus on growth.
About Deutsche Annington:
The Deutsche Annington Immobilien Group (DAIG, Bochum) is one of the leading German, residential property companies with 230,000 leased and managed objects, nationwide. Their main areas of business are the letting of residential property, active asset management, the acquisition of new residential portfolios in order to sustainably increase the company’s value as well a the sale of flats to tenants, owner-occupiers or capital investors (including management). DAIG is a company oriented on the long-term and a responsible and strong lessor with a nationwide selection of residential property.
The company was formed in 2000, following the successful purchase of 64.000 railworker flats, the first major residential property privatisation in Germany. DAIG consolidated its position as market leader with the purchase of Viterra in 2005.
Contacts:
Deutsche Annington Immobilien Gruppe
Katja Klemm
Phone +49 234 314 – 1901
Mobile +49 174 9224995
katja.klemm@deutsche-annington.com
A&B Financial Dynamics
Dirk T. Schmitt
Phone +49 69 920 37 –142
Mobile +49 170 302 8833
d.schmitt@abfd.de
