Challenges loom large for the Chair of the Advisory Committee
Rewritten Article:
Gregor Scheller, chair of the BayWa agricultural trading group's Supervisory Board, has found himself in quite the storm these past eight months. With the company struggling to stay afloat, his role is more about responsibility than enjoyment. Driven by a sense of duty, the seasoned banker, age 67, intends to help BayWa, burdened with debt and leaking money, regain stability in the long run.
A power player among Bavarian credit cooperatives, the largest single shareholder with a 33.8% stake, Scheller has seen his share of fires in the cooperative sector. From February 2022 to July 2024, he served as interim Chair of the Board of Management and President of the Association of Cooperatives Bavaria (GVB), stepping into the breach created by internal power struggles leading to the ousting of Jürgen Gros.
Greasing the Gears
A passion to assist is Scheller's primary motivation at BayWa. When the company declared itself a restructuring case in mid-July last year, his initial focus was on securing financial aid for the ailing enterprise. As GVB President, he guaranteed BayWa's survival by publicly declaring the unwavering support of the cooperative primary banks, thereby preventing bankruptcy.
Together with numerous creditor banks, he managed to secure financial injections totaling €1 billion to bridge the gap. The group is shedding 1,300 jobs at its headquarters, offloading many peripheral activities, and preparing for a capital increase. With the prescribed downsizing program, the aim is for the company to be self-sustaining by the end of 2027. This is the plan being pursued by the main shareholders, creditor banks, Scheller, and Alix Partners' restructuring director, Michael Baur.
Board Tactics
While Scheller can point to some initial progress, the Supervisory Board, which shares responsibility for the financial catastrophe, has seen little movement beyond the appointment of a new head and the resignation of Deputy Supervisory Board Chair Wolfgang Altmüller in November last year. To this day, there have been few changes on the capital side of the board. At management board level, CEO Marcus Pöllinger left in October 2024, and CFO Andreas Helber is set to depart in March of this year.
Scheller is battling to implement his plan to populate the Supervisory Board with savvy, independent individuals. This push is primarily thwarted by shareholders, especially the credit cooperatives, re-electing many board members for another term extending to 2028 at the most recent Annual General Meeting on June 11, 2024.
Boomerang Effect
These June 2024 board member votes are turning out to be a double-edged sword for Scheller. Figureheads like Monika Hohlmeier, daughter of former Bavarian Minister President Franz Josef Strauß, and credit cooperative heavyweights like Wilhelm-Josef Oberhofer remain on the Supervisory Board, despite allegations of lost moral standing in the BayWa restructuring process. However, everything transpires within the bounds of legality. Oberhofer, especially, who is also Chair of the Audit Committee, seems firmly entrenched in his position. In contrast, Altmüller at least displayed some backbone.
[Insight: Board member re-elections can sometimes persist due to various factors, such as a lack of alternative candidates, shareholder support despite moral concerns, internal political dynamics, or applicable governance rules that allow re-election unless there is a formal legal or regulatory disqualification. Without specific, public evidence detailing the reasons for the re-election of Monika Hohlmeier and Wilhelm-Josef Oberhofer amid alleged moral concerns in BayWa's agricultural trading group restructuring, it remains unclear why these specific individuals were re-elected.]
- Gregor Scheller, as the chair of BayWa's Supervisory Board, is determined to restructure the company, which has been facing financial difficulties, with a goal of restoring its stability in the long run.
- Serving as both the interim Chair of BayWa's Board of Management and President of the Association of Cooperatives Bavaria, Scheller spearheaded efforts to secure financial aid, preventing BayWa's possible bankruptcy.
- In collaboration with numerous creditor banks, Scheller has managed to secure a €1 billion financial injection to help BayWa survive its restructuring, a process that involves shedding 1,300 jobs, offloading peripheral activities, and preparing for a capital increase.
- Despite initial progress, the Supervisory Board, shared among BayWa's main shareholders, faces criticism for a lack of movement on the capital side, with few changes since the resignation of Deputy Supervisory Board Chair Wolfgang Altmüller in November 2023.
