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Continuity:

With Petra Schraner-Wolff, a homegrown person is moving to the top of the group

Photo: Christophe Gateau / picture alliance / dpa

It turns out as expected - and yet the decision causes a surprise.

With CFO

Petra Schraner-Wolff

(52), the Hamburg retail giant Otto will have a woman at the top of the group for the first time on March 1st next year.

This had already become apparent weeks ago despite an internal three-way fight with incumbent

Alexander Birken

(59) and e-commerce boss

Sebastian Klauke

(44).

Job change:

Otto boss

Alexander Birken

becomes chairman of the trading group's supervisory board

Photo: Axel Heimken/dpa

Although Klauke claims successes such as the sale of the Sportcheck retail chain and the IPO of the fashion retailer About You, he is not without controversy due to his management style.

Birken's contract expires at the beginning of next year; in order to extend it, the shareholders would have had to lift the internal age limit of 60 years.

According to reports, Birken would have been happy to continue if patriarch

Michael Otto

(80) had asked him to, but he has other plans for his outgoing CEO: Birken is moving to the top of the supervisory board.

The decision surprises many observers.

After all, Michael Otto's son

Benjamin

(48) publicly claimed the position for himself a few years ago if his father were to vacate the position.

Now things are different.

However, as the company announces, Benjamin Otto will take control elsewhere.

On March 1, 2026, Michael Otto also wants to hand over the chairmanship of the foundation and shareholders' council and transfer the tasks to his son.

Michael Otto controls the majority of the group through the foundation.

“One of the biggest challenges for family businesses is successful generational change,” says Michael Otto.

“At the Otto Group, my son is the third generation to assume overall responsibility for the group of companies.

I am very confident that Benjamin will not only lead the Otto Group into a good economic future, but will also keep the special values ​​of our family business alive.”

This step marks the end of an era.

The honorary citizen of Hamburg has shaped the group since 1971 and shaped the former Otto-Versand, first as a board member and later as head of the supervisory board, into an international trading and service group.

Taking this life's work into the future will soon be Schraner-Wolff's job.

The head of finance, who has been with the company since 1991, enjoys a high reputation in the family.

In addition, the decision is a typical one: their two predecessors,

Hans-Otto Schrader

(67) and Birken - the first two non-family CEOs - also made their careers at Otto and had a focus on accounting.

Schraner-Wolff's duties as finance and human resources manager will be taken over by

Katy Roewer

(48), who will then move up to the board.

A task that she will continue to fulfill as a part-time employee with an 80 percent position.

The fact that the supervisory board, which is dominated by the family and former board members, approves the personal details is considered a formality.

The retail giant, founded in 1949, employs around 41,000 people in Europe and the USA.

In the 2022/23 financial year (February 28), sales were 16.2 billion euros.