Burghard resigns from his office

Köln, 13.02.07

Chairman of the Supervisory Board introduces generational change to REWE Group's top oversight body - Dr. Klaus Burghard resigns from his office ahead of schedule

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board for the Cologne-based REWE Group, Dr. Klaus Burghard (65), has announced his resignation from the post. "Following the fundamental reorientation of the company and the changes to the Management Board membership, it is now time to clear the way for a long-term future solution on the Supervisory Board as well", said Burghard on Tuesday evening (February 13, 2007) in Cologne. The elections to the REWE Deutscher Supermarkt KGaA Supervisory Board scheduled for the spring, in which he will not stand as a candidate due to his age, should also serve as an appropriate opportunity to replace the Supervisory Board Chairmen of REWE-Zentral AG and REWE-Zentralfinanz eG. The Supervisory Boards for the two top companies within the REWE Group co-operative are to be re-elected over the coming year.

The Supervisory Board unanimously praised the Chairman's decision as "a great gesture with which Dr. Klaus Burghard has again demonstrated that his primary interest is in the well-being and future of the company, its retailers and employees rather, than in holding onto his own offices." The REWE Group Management Board declared its "thanks and deep respect for the extraordinary services" of the departing Supervisory Board Chairman. Dr. Burghard was a "fundamental agent of change in preparing the course for a new era at REWE; his courage, his willingness to take risks and his entrepreneurial foresight" had made a major contribution to the modernisation and reorientation of REWE Group on the basis of sound strategies for the future. He had been under considerable strain over the past two years in particular while he continued his efforts. "The introduction of transparency and openness through good corporate governance is inseparably linked with Dr. Klaus Burghard", said the Management Board of the leading German and European food trading and travel company.

Dr. Klaus Burghard served as the CEO of the FÜR Sie-Handelsgenossenschaft co-operative for many years, and has been a member of the Supervisory Board for REWE's head office organisations since 1988. An attorney and permanent legal advisor, he has served as the head of the top oversight body for the company since 2000. In 2004, Dr. Burghard - himself a committed believer in the co-operative model - introduced generational change to the REWE Group Management Board, thereby setting the stage for a successful continuing evolution of the company on a field of increasing German and international competition.

The respective governing bodies of the company will decide on the future membership of key positions on the Supervisory Boards in the next several weeks.

The Supervisory Board of REWE-Zentralfinanz eG has nominated the CEO of REWE Dortmund Großhandel eG, Heinz-Bert Zander, as a candidate for the chairmanship of the REWE Group Supervisory Board.

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