2023-04-30 17:00:00
Farewell backdrop: Frank Appel is moving out of the Post Tower. Bild: Domenic Driessen
Frank Appel is the longest-serving boss of a Dax group. Now he will close the Deutsche Post chapter. As a farewell, he talks about the future of world trade, his own mistakes – and his new job.
Mr. Appel, no other Dax CEO has been in office as long as you. How has the work at the top of the group changed in these 15 years?
It is always claimed that the challenges have increased. I’m not so sure. Peter Ustinov once said: In twenty years we’ll be talking about the good old days. But the current or the coming year is always the most difficult. Many say the world has become more complex, and as a result, corporate governance has become more demanding. I disagree. Take 2020, the Covid year. It was said that things will never be the same again. That was exaggerated. If we ignore the terrible war in Ukraine and inflation, little has changed. People travel, they go to the cinema and to restaurants, they shop, they live the same way as before. As a company, we have to deal with the changes. But to praise oneself today, because everything has become so difficult, would be a bit too easy for me.
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Frank Appel – From Post to Telekom
Frank Appel, a chemist with a doctorate in neurobiology, came to Deutsche Post shortly before the company went public in 2000 through his work at the management consultancy McKinsey. In 2002, the native of Hamburg moved up to the board and took over as chairman in 2008. The first few years were characterized by clean-up work and the elimination of many thousands of jobs in America. After that, things went up, and under his leadership, Swiss Post turned into the largest logistics group in the world. Setbacks were not avoided, Appel personally took over the restructuring twice and got things back on track.
A permanent construction site is the state-regulated mail business, for which Appel would have liked more political support. The technology-loving CEO is similarly opinionated as an advocate of globalization and digitization. Both topics will accompany him as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom. Appel will say goodbye to the Post shareholders at the general meeting next Thursday. (bü.)
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