(Berlin, April 17, 2018) The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG today unanimously elected Michael Odenwald to serve as its new chairman. Odenwald, who has a degree in law, most recently served as a state secretary in the German transport ministry. He succeeds Professor Dr. Dr. Utz-Hellmuth Felcht, who stepped down as chairman at the end of March. Odenwald's term runs until March 2020. "Deutsche Bahn faces major challenges, in large part because the digital age is radically changing the way people and goods travel from A to B," said Odenwald in Berlin on Tuesday. "There is much to do – let's tackle it together."
"We look forward to our work together," said Dr. Richard Lutz, the CEO of Deutsche Bahn. "Mr. Odenwald and I have known each other for many years. We will not need extra time to get acquainted; we can get down to business right away – and that will make a difference for our customers and employees."
After obtaining his law degree, Michael Odenwald began his career over 25 years ago at the German transport ministry. During his tenure there, he became known in particular as a rail expert. Odenwald played a key role in the work done in the German parliament on the first performance and financing agreement (Leistungs- und Finanzierungsvereinbarung; LuFV) for the existing infrastructure, which was signed in 2008. Odenwald also played an important role in the preparation of the German Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan and the drafting of the Rail Requirements Plan, which was established based on the Transport Infrastructure Plan to govern construction of and upgrades to rail infrastructure in Germany. In October 2012, Odenwald was appointed State Secretary at what was then the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development. He was also appointed a member of the DB Supervisory Board, where he represented the Federal Government, DB AG's sole shareholder. In addition, Odenwald coordinated rail-related matters in the Federal Government during the most recent legislative session, from 2013 to 2017.