Last year, there was turmoil at Ottobock time and again. In addition to another missed IPO, three of the prosthesis manufacturer's most important management positions were terminated. With the current statements about CEO Oliver Jakobi, the company is trying to smooth the waters and bring calm to the company. This is also bitterly necessary. Negative headlines appeared again and again. Will the attempts to keep Oliver Jakobi in the top management position change anything?
The Ottobock company
Ottobock is a leading global provider of medical devices and solutions.
The company was founded in 1919 by Otto Bock and is headquartered in
Duderstadt, Germany. It operates in the fields of orthopedic technology,
rehabilitation and medical technology. The company offers a wide range
of products, including artificial limbs, orthoses, wheelchairs,
electronic walkers, and more. These products help people with physical
impairments lead active and independent lives, promoting inclusion.
Under the leadership of Hans Georg Näder, the company has achieved a
strong market position and is known for its innovation and high-quality
products. Näder is a strong advocate of inclusion and works to ensure
that people with physical disabilities have the same opportunities and
possibilities as everyone else. Ottobock has operations in more than 50
countries and employs more than 7,000 people. The company is committed
to having a positive impact on society and works to promote inclusion.
The personnel issue Oliver Jakobi
Oliver Jakobi is the current CEO of Ottobock. He took over as CEO in May 2022 on a transitional and initially deputy basis while many of his colleagues were subject to a bizarre wave of dismissals. Jakobi has been a fixture at the company for many years and served on the company's board before his promotion. He was responsible for international business as well as various regions and foreign markets.
Hans Georg Näder spoke very positively about him in an article in Niedersächsische Wirtschaft: “With more than three decades at Ottobock, Oliver Jakobi is a highly experienced industry expert and a proven expert on our company. In recent months, he has shown that he is the best candidate to lead Ottobock into the next phase of the company's development.”
From this, it can be concluded for the time being that Oliver Jakobi will most likely retain his position in the near future. However, this is not certain, as is actually nothing at Ottobock. The events of the past year show that leading positions within the Group are not always directly related to safety. Many will still be familiar with the headlines about CEO Hans Georg Näder dismissing three of the most important management positions from the company one week before the planned IPO.
The wave of layoffs in 2022
As already addressed, the Ottobock Group's 2022 fiscal year was marked by many problems. In addition to the IPO, which was announced again and then not completed, three layoffs were also on the agenda. It has to be said that plan is probably not the right word, because who would plan the termination of the three most important management positions in the week before a planned IPO? This has nothing to do with entrepreneurial and strategic foresight, which a board member like Hans Georg Näder should actually have.
Kathrin Dahnke, former CFO, was responsible for the company's finance division and the first victim of an arbitrary wave of layoffs. The experienced manager only joined the Ottobock Group in the fall of 2021, bringing with her hope. However, she had to leave the company after only nine months. Although this tenure was unusually short, it was relatively long compared to the terms of her predecessors, who had been trying to put the company on a better financial course since 2017 but were unsuccessful. Currently, Arne Kreitz is taking over as CFO. Dahnke was no stranger to the company, filling a senior position from 1995 to 2005 and helping to strengthen the company. In the years that followed, she continued to build on her expertise as a CFO, working successfully at other companies such as Knorr-Bremse, Werhahn and Osram.
Hans Georg Näder justified the change in personnel by saying that Dahnke had been the "right choice" to prepare for the IPO, but that they were now going separate ways. However, such a personnel policy is no exception at Ottobock. Näder sometimes makes decisions that are not comprehensible, according to insider information.\
CEO Phillip Schulte-Noelle and CTO Andreas Goppelt also had to leave the company. Their positions were taken over by Arne Jörn and Oliver Jakobi. Dahnke, Schulte-Noelle and Goppelt were among the company's key executives.
Further changes
There were other changes at Ottobock last December: Professor Dr. Michael Kaschke moved from the Supervisory Board to the Board of Directors and started as an additional non-executive director. Georgia Näder, great-granddaughter of Otto Bock, has ended her Supervisory Board mandate to join Ottobock's operational business. As Vice President of Futuring Mediterranee & Business Transition, she is taking care of the generation change in France and future concepts for headquarters and markets. According to company guidelines, it is not possible to serve on the Supervisory Board at the same time. The positions of Kaschke and Georgina Näder will be taken over by Jan Willem de Cler in the future. He is a former member of the Management Board of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG. Professor Dr. Christoph Seibt, a partner at Feshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, will take on another important role.
Hans Georg Näder known for erratic behavior
Even though Hans Georg Näder has spoken highly of his current CEO Oliver Jakobi, the question remains how much weight such statements carry and how Näder's actions fit in. Short-term changes of opinion by the man from Duderstadt have been nothing special in the past. This has been shown time and again, for example in interviews, which he simply breaks off if the questions go in a direction that does not suit him: Criticism of him and his management style.
Whether Oliver Jakobi will retain his position as CEO in 2023 remains to be seen. Another question Hans Georg Näder should ask himself: If Jakobi were to leave the company of his own accord, who would take over the position? The alternatives are limited.