DOUGLAS HOLDING Adds Bernd Beetz and Ronald Van Der Vis as New Member to Supervisory Board

DOUGLAS HOLDING AG has proposed Bernd Beetz and Ronald van der Vis as new members of the company’s supervisory board. The vote will take place at the annual general meeting on May 28, 2013. The tenures of Claus-Matthias Böge and Prof. Mark Wössner as members of the supervisory board will come to an end at the same date. They will not be standing for re-election.
 
Claus-Matthias Böge, spokesman of the board of directors at Deutsche EuroShop AG, has been a member of DOUGLAS HOLDING AG’s supervisory board since 2011, while entrepreneur Prof. Mark Wössner joined in 2003. DOUGLAS HOLDING AG founder and chairman of the supervisory board, Dr. Jörn Kreke said, “We are very thankful to Claus-Matthias Böge and Prof. Mark Wössner for their commitment and their cooperation – both have shown dedication to the Group’s interests and always actively and successfully contributed to its strategic development”.
 
Bernd Beetz was CEO of the US cosmetics company Coty from 2001 to 2012. During this time he made several successful acquisitions, more than trebling its revenue and transforming the company into the largest fragrance producer in the world. Before that he headed up the perfumes and cosmetics business of French luxury goods company LVMH. Beetz began his career at multinational consumer goods company Procter & Gamble in 1974, most recently being responsible for the European health and beauty business.
 
Ronald van der Vis worked for the fashion corporation Esprit from 2009 to 2013. He was CEO of the Group and executive director of the board until 2012, where he was responsible for a €3.2 bn turnover and approximately 15,000 employees. During his time at Esprit, van der Vis was successful in kicking off a turnaround plan to revive the brand and make long-term gains in profitability.
 
 From 1998 to 2009 he had a number of managerial positions at the leading eyecare chain Pearle, including CEO from 2004 onward. During this time there was a 100% increase in turnover. Before that, van der Vis worked for the Dutch office-furniture manufacturer Royal Ahrend where he had several management responsibilities including heading up the German side of the business.
 
Dr. Jörn Kreke says, “We are very happy that DOUGLAS HOLDING is proposing Bernd Beetz and Ronald van der Vis, two exceptionally accomplished candidates for positions on the supervisory board. The online and face-to-face expertise they have demonstrated in national and international retail industries will be a great asset in supporting the DOUGLAS group’s future development”.