Stadler Rail AG announced that changes will be made to the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on May 5, 2026. Christoph Franz and Wojciech Kostrzewa will not be standing for re-election. Christoph Franz, after working for Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn, was elected to the Executive Board of Deutsche Bahn AG in 1999.
In 2004, he became CEO of Swiss International Air Lines and, following the successful turnaround of Swiss, he served as CEO of Lufthansa from 2011. He created a global network that he has been contributing to Stadler's Board of Directors since May 2011. As former CEO of Lufthansa and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Roche Holding, he has in-depth knowledge of strategic corporate management and global networking.
With his broad experience in the transport industry, Christoph Franz has made a significant contribution to further strengthening Stadler's international orientation and innovative strength. Wojciech Kostrzewa, another long-standing member of Stadler's Board of Directors, will also not be standing for re-election. After studying law and economics, he served as advisor to the Polish Minister of Finance until 1991 and was Chairman of the Board of the Polish Development Bank and mBank, among other positions.
Since 2005, Kostrzewa has also been President and CEO of the large Polish media group ITI and headed the supervisory board of the TV station TVN. In 2019, he became President of the Polish Business Roundtable. He is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Alior Bank and Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ERGO Hestia.
Wojciech Kostrzewa was elected to the Stadler Board of Directors in May 2012. His extensive experience in politics and in the finance and media industries greatly assisted Stadler in establishing its plant in Poland. Sabrina Soussan has exceptionally broad experience in international industrial companies, particularly in the field of mobility.
She studied mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering and began her career in the mid-1990s as an engineer in engine research and development at Renault. From 1997 onwards, she held various management positions at Siemens internationally, including Vice President for Regional Trains and then CEO of the Rail Vehicles business unit. From 2017 to 2020, she was Co-CEO of the entire Siemens Mobility division.
Sabrina Soussan is currently a member of the Shareholders' Committee of Henkel AG and the Supervisory Board of Continental AG. She is the designated Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Continental AG and is expected to take up this position at the end of April 2026. Michael Schöllhorn has been CEO of Airbus Defence and Space since 2021 and has extensive experience in international project business.
He brings many years of industry and management experience to the Board of Directors, thereby strengthening the company's strategic orientation. Previously, as COO, he was responsible for global manufacturing and quality at BSH Home Appliances, one of the world's leading suppliers of household appliances and an independent subsidiary within the Bosch Group. Schöllhorn was a member of the Executive Board at BSH from 2015 to 2021.
Schöllhorn studied mechanical engineering and earned his doctorate in control engineering at Helmut Schmidt University. With his international profile and extensive experience in project business, Michael Schöllhorn provides important impetus for the further development of Stadler's global market presence on the Board of Directors. The Annual General Meeting is scheduled for May 5, 2026.
