OREANDA-NEWS. The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG has approved an updated distribution of responsibilities within the Executive Board. The changes will take effect on 1 May 2014 and 1 January 2015 respectively.

As Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, Carsten Spohr will place a greater focus on the airline group with its multi-hub and multi-brand strategy comprising the Lufthansa, Germanwings, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines brands. The tried-and-tested principle of decentralised responsibility for business at the hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels as well as at Germanwings will continue to apply to cooperation among the Lufthansa Group airlines. The Chairman of the Executive Board will be responsible not only for airline group and alliance development, but also for centralised network development, while network planning and management will be the decentralised responsibility of the airlines.

Karl Ulrich Garnadt will be responsible for Group infrastructure in addition to Lufthansa German Airlines’. In future, responsibility for airport and air traffic control charges for the entire Lufthansa Group will also fall under his remit.

From 1 May 2014, the Executive Board division ‘Finance and Aviation Services’ will assume responsibility for Group purchasing. The activities of Lufthansa Global Business Services GmbH (LGBS), which include purchasing, will then fall within the remit of Simone Menne.

As Chief Officer Human Resources and Legal, Dr Bettina Volkens will also become a member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board, where she will be responsible as of 1 May 2014 for human resources.

With information technology playing an increasingly important role for the Lufthansa Group airlines, the responsibilities of Executive Board member Harry Hohmeister will be expanded to include Group IT and process management, effective 1 January 2015. From then on, his remit will include responsibility for the Group airlines, Logistics and IT. Harry Hohmeister will continue to serve as Chairman of the Executive Board of Swiss International Air Lines AG.

In addition to the new distribution of responsibilities, the Executive Board has set up a new Group Executive Committee (GEC). As of 1 May 2014 it will comprise the members of the Executive Board, the members of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board, as well as the Chairmen of the Executive Boards of Lufthansa Technik AG, Lufthansa Cargo AG, LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG, Swiss International Air Lines AG, Austrian Airlines AG and Brussels Airlines. This means that in future the Lufthansa Group companies will be involved at an earlier stage in decisions affecting the Group which will enable them to bridge the gap between decentralised and centralised commercial activity more effectively.