Average age
The average age of the DAX 40 chairs is again 66, having risen steadily since 2021. The average age of the shareholder representatives is substantially lower, having fallen from 60 to 59.
At 12 companies, the average age of the chair is significantly higher, at 66–67 years, and at two companies one chair is aged 80 and the other is 82. The youngest chair is 52 (one company), followed by three companies where the chair is 56.
There is a remarkable gap between the age ranges of female chairs, who average 55 years, and male chairs, who average 66 years. On average, male chairs are 11 years older their female counterparts. However, in the entire DAX 40 community, there are only two female chairs.
Tenure
The average tenure of a supervisory board chair has slightly dropped to 8.7 years, from 8.9 years.
Average tenure (in years)
|
2016 |
2018 |
2020 |
2021
[Dax 40]
|
2022
[Dax 40]
|
2023
[Dax 40]
|
| Tenure |
5.7 |
5.4 |
4.7 |
8.2 |
8.9 |
8.7 |
Gender
95% or 38 of the DAX 40 companies are chaired by men.
The number of female board chairs, already low at the three recorded in the 2023 Board Index, has declined still further, to two. Two of those three female chairs noted last year were replaced by men (at Brenntag and Zalando). Of the two female chairs, one has been in position since 2013 (at Henkel). The other female chair, a board member since 2013, was newly appointed at Vonovia, which joined the DAX 40 in 2023.
International chairs
11 companies (28%) have an international chair, rising from nine companies (23%) in the last survey period.
New chairs
Four new chairs were appointed in 2024; all of them were previously members of the supervisory boards of the relevant companies. One of them (at Vonovia) is a woman.
External commitments
The number of external supervisory mandates in publicly listed companies held by chairs rose compared to the levels seen in our 2023 Board Index.
Eleven chairs are engaged exclusively with the DAX 40 chair role they hold in one company.
Of the remaining 29 chairs, 19 hold one additional board commitment. Seven hold two other board commitments and only one sits on more than two external boards. Notably, two of the DAX 40 chairs held a supervisory chair role in another DAX 40 company operating in a different industry sector.
Among regular supervisory board members (shareholder representatives only), the proportion of those who hold additional board commitments increased to 57% (173).
Number of board seats in public companies held by chairs
|
1 seat |
2 seats |
3 seats |
4 seats |
5+ seats |
|
BI 2024 (DAX 40)
|
28% |
50% |
20% |
0 |
2.5% |
|
BI 2023 (DAX 40)
|
38% |
28% |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
BI 2020 (DAX 30)
|
23% |
27% |
33% |
17% |
0 |
Committee membership
Chairs are strongly engaged in committee participation. Chairs usually lead the nomination, presidential, personnel, and remuneration committees.
Chairs leading/sitting on selected committees
|
Chair |
Member |
| Audit |
0 |
18 |
| NomCo |
35 |
2 |
| Presidential |
26 |
0 |
| Personnel |
10 |
6 |
| Sustainability/ESG |
7 |
5 |
All DAX 40 companies have an audit committee; in a few cases, it is combined with other areas of responsibility. In no company is the committee chaired by the chair of the supervisory board; however, the chair is a member of the audit committee in 18 companies. One of these members represents the owning family. Fifteen (37.5%) of the audit committees are chaired by women.
In all 40 DAX companies, nominations for the shareholder representatives is addressed in a committee. A nomination committee is established at 39 companies. In one case (Commerzbank), the nomination committee is combined with the presidential committee and was evaluated here under the presidential committee.
In 35 instances (out of 39), the chair of the supervisory board also chairs the nomination committee. Two of the chairs are women. In two companies, the chair of the supervisory board is not the chair of the committee, although they are a member. In two companies (Airbus, Heidelberg Materials), the chair of the supervisory board is not a member of the nomination committee.
In 26 companies, the supervisory board chair also chairs the presidential committee.
A personnel committee is maintained in 17 companies, at 10 of which the chair of the supervisory board leads the committee. In six cases, if the supervisory board chair does not chair the committee, they remain a member. Four of the 17 personnel committee chairs are women, including one employee representative.
In two companies (Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom), employee representatives chair the committee, one of whom is female and the other male.
19 companies maintain sustainability and ESG committees. In seven of these companies, the chair of the supervisory board leads this committee; in five companies, the chair is at least a member.
In six companies, women lead the committee; however, none of these women is also the chair of the supervisory board.
Our perspective
The chair of the supervisory board plays a significant role in succession planning due to the composition and functioning of the committees and their leadership. The chair often leads the committees for both succession topics (namely the nomination committee for the supervisory board, and the presidential or personnel committees for the executive board).
Previous CEO experience is often described as an ideal qualification for the supervisory board chair role. Given that there is just one female CEO among the DAX 40 companies (at Merck) it is expected that the pool of qualified female candidates will remain narrow for the foreseeable future. Consequently, the advancement of gender diversity in the key roles on the supervisory board can progress only slowly. For the chair of the supervisory board, visibly enhancing diversity on the board should be a high priority on the board’s agenda.