Thyssenkrupp chairman candidates decline job: Source

FRANKFURT: A number of candidates to be chairman of Thyssenkrupp have declined to take the job, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, leaving the steelmaker facing a delay in filling a leadership vacuum.

An agreement with former Deutsche Bank deputy Chief Executive Marcus Schenck and former Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers could not be reached, the person said.

Handelsblatt had earlier reported that both candidates had declined the offer.


Thyssenkrupp has been in a leadership vacuum since both its CEO Heinrich Hiesinger and Chairman Ulrich Lehner resigned last month. Investor sources told Reuters earlier this month the steel-to-submarine maker should find a new chairman no later than September, concerned that required restructuring measures could fall victim to the leadership crisis.

The group is now searching for a chairperson, who is supposed to lead the search for a new CEO. Preparatory steps for the CEO search are already underway, the person said.

Sources told Reuters earlier this month that Airbus CEO Tom Enders, who will step down next year, also declined the job.

A Thyssenkrupp spokesman declined to comment.