Week of 12 to 18 October 2026. Eight confirmed leadership and governance decisions from Germany and the DACH-relevant corporate environment. The selection is based on announcements by the companies and issuers; facts and editorial assessment are kept separate.
The three most important developments
1. TIMETOACT GROUP reorganises CEO, CFO and COO
Fact: Frank Fuchs takes on the role of Group CEO on 1 November 2026. Steve van Zundert joins as Group CFO, Sascha Wadenpohl becomes Group COO. After 28 years of operational leadership, founder Felix Binsack moves into the role of Founder & Vice Chairman of the Board and remains involved in long-term strategy.
Assessment: TIMETOACT is not only carrying out a CEO succession but also redistributing operational responsibility. Former COO and CFO Fuchs moves to the top; the finance and operations portfolios are filled separately. For the H.I.G.-backed IT services group, this is a concrete step towards a more integrated organisation.
Primary source: TIMETOACT GROUP, 14 October 2026
2. Jean-Marc Bellaiche becomes CEO of the DOUGLAS Group
Fact: The supervisory board of DOUGLAS AG has appointed Jean-Marc Bellaiche as chair of the management board for four years effective 1 November 2026. He succeeds Sander van der Laan, who is retiring from active management after 36 years in international retail.
Assessment: Bellaiche brings leadership experience from luxury, premium retail and technology. After roles at BCG, Tiffany, Printemps and Sani/Ikos, he takes over a listed omnichannel retailer with around 1,970 stores in Europe. The change combines orderly succession with a clear focus on customer experience, brand partnerships and operational execution.
Primary source: DOUGLAS Group, 14 October 2026
3. Fresenius appoints Marc-Alexander Mahl to the management board and extends Sara Hennicken’s contract
Fact: Dr Marc-Alexander Mahl becomes a member of the Fresenius management board on 1 November 2026, where he is responsible for the Fresenius Kabi business. He succeeds Pierluigi Antonelli. At the same time, the supervisory board extended CFO Sara Hennicken’s contract by five years to 2032; Sébastien Guery takes overall responsibility for the Nutrition business at Fresenius Kabi.
Assessment: With Mahl, Fresenius is relying on a long-standing internal manager who already leads a business globally. The parallel contract extension in finance creates continuity while operational responsibility at Fresenius Kabi is redesigned.
Primary source: Fresenius, 15 October 2026
Further confirmed developments
4. Christine Prauschke becomes CBO and board member of HomeToGo
Fact: Dr Christine Prauschke joins the HomeToGo management board as Chief Business Officer on 1 January 2027. She takes overall financial and operational responsibility for HomeToGo Originals including Interhome and thus for more than 200 local service offices and around 70,000 holiday homes in 28 countries.
Assessment: HomeToGo is anchoring the property management business as a separate board portfolio. Prauschke’s mandate explicitly includes, alongside the operational business, the integration of further acquisitions – a logical consequence of the buy-and-build strategy.
Primary source: HomeToGo SE / EQS, 14 October 2026
5. Peter Schmid von Linstow takes over Redcare Pharmacy
Fact: On 14 October 2026, the supervisory board of Redcare Pharmacy appointed Peter Schmid von Linstow as member of the managing board and CEO. He brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in digital platforms and marketplaces, including Visable, Parship, eBay and AutoScout24.
Assessment: The new CEO combines platform building with operational scaling. This fits Redcare’s profile as a listed online pharmacy active in seven European countries that must bring together technology, regulation and logistics.
Primary source: Redcare Pharmacy / EQS, 14 October 2026
6. Joanna Holbrook becomes Chief Scientific Officer and board member of Evotec
Fact: On 1 November 2026, Dr Joanna Holbrook takes over Evotec’s global scientific strategy and becomes a member of the management board. She comes from Novo Nordisk and has more than 25 years of experience in pharma, biotechnology and academic research.
Assessment: Evotec is raising scientific leadership to management board level. Holbrook’s profile combines drug discovery, data science, new technologies and the commercialisation of research platforms – exactly the interfaces at which Evotec wants to differentiate its offering.
Primary source: Evotec, 15 October 2026
7. All for One Group reconstitutes its supervisory board after the VINCI takeover
Fact: Following the completed change of ownership to VINCI Energies, Burim Mirakaj, Luc Penninckx, Klaudius Heda and Gerd Renner were appointed to the supervisory board of All for One Group. Mirakaj takes the chair. Four previous shareholder representatives stepped down; the employee representatives remain on the board.
Assessment: The new composition reflects the change of ownership in the supervisory body. Management, finance, legal and ICT experience from the VINCI Energies environment is to support the integration of the SAP and IT services provider into the Axians network.
Primary source: All for One Group SE / EQS, 16 October 2026
8. Uniper renews CEO Michael Lewis’s appointment ahead of schedule
Fact: The supervisory board of Uniper SE has appointed Michael Lewis as member and chair of the management board for a further five years. The new term begins on 1 November 2026 and runs until 31 October 2031; it replaces his previous appointment until May 2028.
Assessment: The unusually early extension creates long-term continuity at the top of the group. Lewis has led Uniper since 2023; the new term covers a phase of considerable investment in security of supply, renewables, hydrogen and other low-carbon energy sources.
Primary source: Uniper, 15 October 2026
Editorial deadline: 18 October 2026. Only confirmed company and issuer announcements were taken into account.