Report of the Supervisory Board of MANN+HUMMEL
Globalization is dead. Long live globalization!
If ever there was a need to show the advantages and disadvantages of globalization in one picture, 2022 can be used as a prime example. The dependence and fragility of global supply chains. Heterogeneous developments in global energy prices. Reducing bureaucracy on the one hand and increasing bureaucracy on the other hand. The return to bloc formation and geopolitical rifts long thought to have been overcome.
After reading the above lines, one might argue: globalization has failed because it has stalled. I argue: imagine where we would stand today in a world without globalization!
Thomas Fischer, Chairman of the MANN+HUMMEL Group
MANN+HUMMEL is a perfect example. A company born in Germany, grown internationally. For more than 80 years, we have been following our customers to shape markets and the future of mobility worldwide. As well as breaking new ground to pave the road for the future of green tech in our Life Sciences & Environment business unit. We have been making friends and establishing strong partnerships worldwide. A fundamental cornerstone for developing fruitful cooperations or even co-creation.
To be successful, we added innovative solutions, great engineering, and manufacturing excellence to the cocktail. Just to name a few. However, this is the basics.
In order to be sustainably successful in a globalized world, there is at least one more thing to tick off the list: to listen carefully to our customers’ wishes and needs or, even more so, anticipate them. In today’s world, it is not about creating one-size-fits-all solutions anymore and pushing them into different markets recklessly. It is of utmost importance to deliver what is wanted and needed, to customize products.
At MANN+HUMMEL, we have always done this well. Thanks to our diverse and internationally cross-linked teams we have been able to unlock potential and serve markets.
However, “better” is the enemy of “good”. Driving standardization forward in such a way that we can create space for individualization must be one of our major goals as a global organization.
This is why cultural diversity is gaining more and more importance when forming teams. At the same time, it is important to accept—and I consciously choose accept above tolerate—that there are cultural differences. Not all cultures around the globe function or work according to the Western way. We might be proud of our achievements in the previous decades and centuries. However, it is not up to us to carry the Western culture and way of life into the emerging countries and markets throughout Asia, Africa, or to the Indian subcontinent with missionary zeal.
Given the challenges mentioned at the beginning, real diversity, genuine acceptance, true customer-centricity, absolute focus, and the willingness to pivotal transformation—supported through digital tools and mindset— may never have been of greater importance. 2022 has created an impressive example of what our teams around the globe are capable of. Strengths that will certainly be of great importance in the future, whatever that may be.
To prepare for this future, we have also reshaped our Senior Leadership Team, MANN+HUMMEL’s key management committee. Former CHRO Bernhard Wimmer left the company at the end of the year. On behalf of the shareholders and the Supervisory Board, I would like to express my sincere thanks to him for his work over the past 39 years. On behalf of the aforementioned, I wish his successor Helena Hofer every success in her new role. The same applies to Cedric Dackam, who has been responsible for our Water & Membrane Solutions unit as President and General Manager since the beginning of 2023.
The Supervisory Board of MANN+HUMMEL Verwaltungs GmbH met twice in the reporting year. The meetings focused on current and future business developments. In addition, we continued our discussions on the impact of global economic developments. Additionally, the topics of investment and personnel policies, the quality situation, and the strategic alignment of the company and the Group were examined in depth. Issues with a negative impact on the company were also discussed and examined constructively and critically. In the 2022 fiscal year, the Supervisory Board once again continuously supported the Management Board by examining and discussing the verbal and written reports of the Management Board in detail at the Supervisory Board meetings. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board also maintained constant contact with the Management Board.
The Supervisory Board was satisfied with the legality, appropriateness, and regularity of the activities of the Management Board at all times. The audit of MANN+HUMMEL International GmbH & Co. KG’s annual financial statements and the group management report of the MANN+HUMMEL Group were audited by Ernst & Young GmbH, Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Flughafenstraße 61, 70629 Stuttgart. All documents were issued with an unqualified audit opinion. The Supervisory Board examined the annual financial statements, the proposal for the appropriation of earnings, consolidated financial statements, and group management report in detail and was provided with a comprehensive report by the auditors regarding the results of their audits. The Supervisory Board approves the audit results without any reservations.
The Supervisory Board and the shareholders thank all employees of the MANN+HUMMEL Group, the Management Board, and the employee representatives for their successful efforts in the past fiscal year.