At today’s meeting in Cologne, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG appointed two new members to the Group’s Executive Board. Effective July 1, 2013, Dr. Bettina Volkens (49) will be the Group’s Director of Industrial Relations and responsible for Corporate Human Resources and Legal Affairs, while Harry Hohmeister (49) joins the Executive Board as Chief Officer Group Airlines and Logistics.
The two new Board members succeed Stefan H. Lauer, who will be stepping down from his position on June 30, 2013 by mutual agreement with the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board after serving on the Deutsche Lufthansa AG Executive Board for 13 years.
Volkens and Hohmeister are both drawn from the company’s own ranks. Bettina Volkens currently heads the Group’s HR division, while Harry Hohmeister is Chief Executive Officer at Swiss International Air Lines. Both will continue in their previous positions in addition to taking on their new responsibilities.
Dipl.-Ing. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jürgen Weber, Chairman of the Deutsche Lufthansa AG Supervisory Board: “By splitting the Executive Board position of Chief Officer Group Airlines & Corporate Human Resources, we enhance the company’s fitness for the future from a management perspective as well. Dr. Bettina Volkens has a wealth of experience in HR management and legal affairs, while Harry Hohmeister joins the Executive Board as a recognized industry expert and someone with profound knowledge of the Lufthansa Group.”
Dr. Bettina Volkens joined the Lufthansa Group in 2012 to head the Group’s HR unit for management staff and is currently managing the Group’s HR division as Senior Vice President Corporate Personnel. After completing her law doctorate, Volkens began her career in 1994 in Berlin as a research assistant in the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. She then worked as a lawyer before joining Deutsche Bahn AG in 1997. After a number of roles, she was appointed to the Management Board as HR Director, DB Regio, in 2006, before then taking over “Group HR Development and Group Management Staff” at DB Mobility Logistics AG in 2011.
Harry Hohmeister has been CEO of Swiss International Air Lines since July 2009. After graduating in aviation management, Hohmeister then spent most of his career at Deutsche Lufthansa AG. In more than 14 years at the company, Hohmeister’s duties initially involved fleet planning and development, plus European flight planning. He then worked on restructuring the Sales and Marketing division while also heading Network Planning before being appointed to the SWISS Management Board in 2005, where he was responsible for network and alliance management.