Benjamin Otto will succeed his father Michael as Chairman of the eponymous e-commerce company in 2026. A year earlier, a new CEO will take the executive helm.
Management renewals
Michael Otto, son of founder Werner, calls the successful transfer from one generation to the next “one of the biggest challenges for family businesses”. He can certainly know that, as he took his company’s father over in 1981, but now the 80-year-old feels the time has come to pass on the torch.
On 1 March 2026, Benjamin will take over his father’s role of Chairman of the Shareholders’ Council. This leads to a kind of Musical Chairs, as the current CEO (Alexander Birken) takes his place as Chairman of the Supervisory Board from 1 March 2025 (a year earlier). Birken will help support the transition to the new generation.
In turn, current Chief Financial Officer Petra Scharner-Wolff – who has been with the company since 1999 – becomes the new CEO. Katy Roewer will then assume the role of CFO and HR director on the revamped board. Roewer joins the Otto group from subsidiary OTTO.
