Members
Robert Wethmar, Chairman of the Supervisory Board
(independent member of the Supervisory Board)
Attorney and partner at the Taylor Wessing law firm, Hamburg.
Born in 1961, Robert Wethmar studied law at the University of Hamburg, graduating in 1988 with the first state examination. He then completed his legal clerkship at the Berlin Appellate Court, where he completed his second state examination in 1991. Thereafter, Robert Wethmar completed a master’s degree at New York University, qualifying as an attorney at law in the State of New York in 1993. Robert Wethmar has been a lawyer in Hamburg since 1993 and a partner at the international law firm Taylor Wessing since 1997. He specializes in cross-border M&A transactions and joint ventures as well as corporate law matters for mid-size and large family companies. He advises national and international companies in the technology (e.g. aviation and space technology, information technology, medical and biotechnology) and consumer goods industries.
Robert Wethmar, who was born in the Netherlands, has been honorary consul of the Netherlands in Hamburg since 2010.
He has been a member of the Supervisory Board of OHB SE and the company’s legal predecessor, OHB AG, since 2012 and since 1st April 2018 Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Heinz Stoewer, M.Sc., Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board
(independent member of the Supervisory Board)
Managing Director SAC Space Associates Beratungs GmbH, München
Prof. Heinz Stoewer, born in 1940, has studied technical Physics, Business Administration and Systems Management in Germany and the USA. He worked at the Boelkow KG (today part of the Airbus Group), MDAC in the USA (today Boeing) as Project Manager, the European Space Agency ESA as Programme Manager Spacelab and Department Head and the German Space Agency DARA GmbH as Managing Director. He is emeritus professor for Space Systems Engineering at the Delft University of Technology and has authored more than 90 scientific/technical publications on space and engineering topics. He was and is member of various space related boards and committees such as the Dutch Space Research Organisation SRON, the International Academy of Astronautics, the German Aerospace Society DGLR, DLR Freundeskreis, Internationale Astronautische Föderation (IAF), the International Council on Systems Engineering INCOSE and the NASA Centre JPL in Pasadena.
Prof. Stoewer is also Founder and President of the Space Associates GmbH, an international network company working in the fields of space, systems engineering, project management and education. He lectures at renowned universities worldwide.
Prof. Heinz Stoewer is a member of the Supervisory Board of OHB SE, respectively its predecessor company OHB AG, since 2005.
Christa Fuchs
Managing shareholder of VOLPAIA Beteiligungs-GmbH, Bremen
After completing a commercial traineeship, Christa Fuchs (born in 1938) worked in office positions at Klöckner in Hamburg and Jacobs Kaffee AG in Bremen between 1957 and 1981 (with a break between the years 1960 and 1971 due to child-rearing). In 1981, she took over a company named OHB Otto Hydraulik Bremen GmbH, assuming management responsibility and remaining a member of the company’s management until 2002. Christa Fuchs has held various honorary positions including as a judge at the social court and the administrative court in Bremen.
She is currently the managing shareholder of VOLPAIA Beteiligungs-GmbH, the Fuchs family’s asset management company. In addition, she has been honorary consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Bremen since 2014.
Christa Fuchs has been a member of the Supervisory Board of OHB SE and its legal predecessor (OHB AG) since 2002. She chaired this body from 2002 to 2018.
Ingo Kramer
(independent member of the Supervisory Board)
Partner of J. Heinr. Kamer Holding GmbH & Co. KG
Ingo Kramer, born in 1953, had been managing director from 1982-2018 in the family business J. Heinr. Kramer in Bremerhaven, since then he is active as a partner. The graduated industrial engineer had been president of the federation of German employers associations BDA from November 2013 to November 2020. Through his offices as long-time president of the trade associations in the state of Bremen (2002-2016) and president of the employers' association Nordmetall (2007-2013), Kramer is very well-known in Bremen and the region. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Lenze SE, Aerzen and Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit, Köln.
Ingo Kramer has been a member of the Supervisory Board of OHB SE since June 19, 2018.
Dr.-Ing. Hans-Jörg Königsmann
(independent member of the Supervisory Board)
Former Vice President of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)
Dr. Hans-Jörg Königsmann, born in 1963, studied aerospace engineering at the Technical University of Berlin. He then completed his doctorate at the University of Bremen, where he received a PhD in aerospace and production technology in 1995. As part of his doctorate, he worked at the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen on the Bremsat small satellite, which was developed in close collaboration with OHB. From 2002 to 2021, he worked for the US company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). As Vice President of the company, he was involved in various leading functions in the development of the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, the Dragon spacecraft as well as the Starlink constellation and human spaceflight topics. He has outstanding expertise in the field of spaceflight, particularly with regard to satellite technology and launch vehicles. He is a member of the supervisory board of Mynaric AG, Gilching.
Dr. Hans-Jörg Königsmann has been a member of OHB SE's Supervisory Board since June 24, 2022.
Committees of the Supervisory Board
OHB's corporate governance serves to ensure responsible management and control of the Group geared to value creation. OHB SE's Supervisory Board has delegated individual tasks to three committees, which deal with these in greater detail for the attention of the Supervisory Board. The Personnel Committee, the Audit Committee and the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee each comprise at least three members of the Supervisory Board.
The Personnel Committee is composed of the members of the Supervisory Board Robert Wethmar (Chairman of the Committee), Ingo Kramer and Prof. Heinz Stoewer.
The members of this Committee prepare proposals for the attention of the Supervisory Board for the appointment of new Management Board members and deal with succession planning and the evaluation of candidates for the Management Board. In the selection and nomination process, the Nomination Committee takes into account independence, expertise, experience as well as the competencies (also with regard to economic, environmental and social aspects) required for the tasks of the Management Board or the Corporate Senior Management. As far as possible, a balance in terms of diversity shall be sought - in particular with regard to gender, age, nationality or country of origin, competencies, experience and ways of thinking. These criteria generally include ethnic origin and affiliation.
The Audit Committee is composed of the members of the Supervisory Board Ingo Kramer (Chairman of the Committee), Robert Wethmar and Christa Fuchs.
The Audit Committee supports the Supervisory Board in monitoring the management of the company, in particular from a financial perspective. Specifically, it reviews:
- the structure of the accounting system
- the organization and content of financial controls, including internal audits;
- the financial reporting to the shareholders, the capital market and the public as well as the relationship with the group auditors;
- the financial planning and budget and its fulfillment;
- the investment of cash and cash equivalents and the financial situation
- the longer-term business plans and strategy and their communication in the annual report;
- the risk management, internal control systems, risk plans and risk assessment of the Executive Committee;
- the tax matters and monitors the tax risks and tax governance including the tax strategy of the Company.
Besides that, this committee monitors the sustainability reporting.
The Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee is composed of the members of the Supervisory Board Robert Wethmar (Chairman of the Committee), Prof. Heinz Stoewer, Christa Fuchs and Dr. Hans-Jörg Königsmann.
This committee supports the Supervisory Board in matters relating to corporate governance, compliance and the alignment of the Company's activities with sustainable management. It monitors compliance with internal business and behavioral principles, including safety and environmental protection, from a legal perspective.
In the selection and nomination process, this committee takes into account independence, expertise, experience, and the competencies (also with regard to economic, environmental, and social aspects) required for the tasks of the Supervisory Board. As far as possible, a balance in terms of diversity shall be sought - in particular with regard to gender, age, nationality or country of origin, competencies, experience and mindset. These criteria generally include ethnic origin and affiliation.