Declaration of conformity 2020
Joint declaration by the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board pursuant to Section 161 of the German Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz, AktG) concerning the recommendations of the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code
The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Rheinmetall AG declare that, since submission of the last Declaration of Compliance dated August 21, 2019, Rheinmetall AG has complied with the recommendations of the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code in the version of February 7, 2017, published in the electronic version of the German Federal Gazette on April 24, 2017 with one exception: the term limit for members of the Supervisory Board.
The Supervisory Board of Rheinmetall AG has decided not to set a limit on Supervisory Board members’ term of office on top of the existing age limit for Supervisory Board members. Rather it is convinced that a strict limit on Supervisory Board members’ term of office, regardless of an individual assessment of the respective members of the Supervisory Board, is not suitable means for the ongoing improvement and professionalization of the work of the Supervisory Board. Instead, flexibility in the composition of the Supervisory Board, with members with different experience serving for different lengths of time, and paying practical attention to a mixed age structure when searching for candidates, is more in line with the company’s interests. After all, the company has been publishing the length of time that the respective members of the Supervisory Board have been serving for some time now, allowing the shareholders to make their own decisions on the individual appropriateness of re-electing a member of the Supervisory Board.
Furthermore, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board declare that Rheinmetall AG has complied and will comply with the recommendations of the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code in its version of December 16, 2019, as applicable, since its publication in the German Federal Gazette on March 20, 2020.
Düsseldorf, August 2020
Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft
The Supervisory Board of Rheinmetall AG has decided not to set a limit on Supervisory Board members’ term of office on top of the existing age limit for Supervisory Board members. Rather it is convinced that a strict limit on Supervisory Board members’ term of office, regardless of an individual assessment of the respective members of the Supervisory Board, is not suitable means for the ongoing improvement and professionalization of the work of the Supervisory Board. Instead, flexibility in the composition of the Supervisory Board, with members with different experience serving for different lengths of time, and paying practical attention to a mixed age structure when searching for candidates, is more in line with the company’s interests. After all, the company has been publishing the length of time that the respective members of the Supervisory Board have been serving for some time now, allowing the shareholders to make their own decisions on the individual appropriateness of re-electing a member of the Supervisory Board.
Furthermore, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board declare that Rheinmetall AG has complied and will comply with the recommendations of the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code in its version of December 16, 2019, as applicable, since its publication in the German Federal Gazette on March 20, 2020.
Düsseldorf, August 2020
Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft
The Executive Board | The Supervisory Board
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