The supervisory board of Deutsche Bahn will get a new chairman in just over a year. Incumbent Werner Gatzer plans to step down in 2027, as reported by the “Bild” newspaper. A spokesperson for Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder confirmed that Gatzer had already announced he would not chair the supervisory body for the full term.
Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz is lined up as the designated successor. The “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” had already reported on this personnel change in February. Franz has been a member of the supervisory board of the state-owned company since March. He still needs to be elected as the new chairman by the board.
According to information from “Bild”, Gatzer himself is set to take over the chairmanship of the supervisory board at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, replacing Jörg Simon. A BER spokesperson declined to comment on personnel matters, referring to the responsibility of the shareholders’ meeting and the supervisory board.
Gatzer, 65, was formerly a state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance. He was elected chairman of the supervisory board of Deutsche Bahn in September 2022. His departure comes at a time of upheaval for the railway: last autumn, the new federal government appointed Evelyn Palla as CEO of Deutsche Bahn, replacing Richard Lutz.
EuroPulse reported on May 22, 2026, on the growing competition in long-distance rail from Flixtrain and Italian provider Italo, challenging the ICE (link to article).
Source: www.handelsblatt.com
