(Reuters) -Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Martina Merz, who launched the conglomerate’s largest structural overhaul, is seeking to step down, the German industrial group said on Monday, without providing a reason for the move.
Shares in the submarines-to-car parts firm plunged after the announcement and were down 9.2% at 1250 GMT.
Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board decided to recommend Miguel Angel Lopez Borrego, who currently serves as CEO of automotive and industrial supplier Norma Group and Chairman of Siemens Gamesa, to succeed Merz from June 1, it said.
“With him at the top, we will continue on the path of transformation on the basis of the strategic lines that have been laid down. This is challenging, but necessary,” Thyssenkrupp Chairman Siegfried Russwurm said.
Shareholder pressure on Merz had been mounting in recent months over a turnaround of the sprawling conglomerate that was seen as too slow and not far-reaching enough.
“Martina Merz has taken over a very difficult task at a challenging time and since then has initiated a fundamental change process at Thyssenkrupp with great commitment and expertise,” Russwurm said.
(Reporting by Tristan Veyet, Christoph Steitz and Alexander Huebner; Editing by Friederike Heine and Matthias Williams)
