DEKRA: New Leadership for Supervisory Board and Executive Board

The German Motor Vehicle Inspection Association (DEKRA) is preparing for the future – on April 6, 2022, the Presidential Council of DEKRA e.V. and the Supervisory Board of DEKRA SE decided on numerous changes at the top during their scheduled meetings. Effective immediately, the previous Chairman of the Board, Stefan Kölbl, will lead the highest supervisory bodies of DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE.

"With the DEKRA Strategy 2025 program – including our strategic focus on technical and digital safety plus sustainability services – we have created a powerful foundation for the coming years. My special thanks go to Thomas Pleines for the many years of excellent cooperation, and I wish him all the best for the next chapter of his life." (Stefan Kölbl)

Thus, an industry expert with over 25 years of experience in the TIC sector (Testing, Inspection, Certification) takes over the chairmanship of the supervisory bodies. The operational leadership of the group as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DEKRA e.V./SE will be taken over by Stan Zurkiewicz. The new CEO was the head of Asia for many years and most recently served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company. The long-standing President of the Presidential Council and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Thomas Pleines, has ended his successful tenure and resigned his mandates.

Pleines, who has been active in various DEKRA committees since December 2000 and has chaired both the Presidential Council of DEKRA e.V. and the Supervisory Board of DEKRA SE since May 2011, intends to focus more on personal interests in the future.Due to his outstanding merits, he was awarded the title of "Honorary President" by the Presidential Council at the end of his term. He thus remains closely connected to the company.

"I would like to sincerely thank the Presidential Council, the Supervisory Board, and especially Stefan Kölbl for the decades of trustful and successful cooperation. It fills me with satisfaction and pride that we can now achieve both continuity and change in top management. This guarantees the continuation of our over 20-year success story and sets the course for the challenges of digital transformation." (Thomas Pleines)

Tripling of company value since 2010

Since Kölbl took over as Chairman of the Board in 2010, DEKRA has nearly tripled its company value to date, according to the company. In the same period, sales more than doubled to today's 3.5 billion euros, earnings increased by 130 percent, and the number of employees grew from around 22,000 (end of 2009) to around 46,500 in 2021. Additionally, the international orientation of the company was significantly accelerated: DEKRA is now active in over 60 countries on five continents.

The executive team will be reduced from four to three positions as part of this transition. Stan Zurkiewicz's responsibilities will include, in addition to the operational business in the regions, marketing & sales, corporate strategy and development, as well as corporate communications. 

Wolfgang Linsenmaier, who remains the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE, responsible for the qualitative development and performance of the group, will expand his area of responsibility to include legal and compliance, audit, and change management. Ulrike Hetzel, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of DEKRA SE, will continue to oversee the strategic development of the service divisions, innovation management, and global IT.