HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The Hamburg-based mail order giant Otto is set for a generational change in the next two years. The company patriarch Michael Otto (80) wants to hand over the leadership in two stages by 2026. This should ensure a smooth transition at the top of the family business.

Otto's son Benjamin (48) will take over as Chairman of the Board of Trustees on March 1, 2026, as the Otto Group announced on Monday. The Board of Trustees represents the Michael Otto Foundation as majority owner of the Otto Group. "At the same time, he will chair the Shareholders' Council, from which the Group's strategic goals will be formulated and monitored in future."

One year earlier, the former CEO Alexander Birken will replace Michael Otto as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Birken's successor on the Otto Executive Board will then be Petra Scharner-Wolff, previously Head of Finance and Human Resources. Katy Roewer will also join the Executive Board and take over Scharner-Wolff's responsibilities.

This marks the end of a decade-long era at Otto. "The period has been deliberately chosen to allow for a gradual transition in peace and quiet," the press release states. "One of the greatest challenges for family businesses is the successful generational change," Michael Otto is quoted as saying. "I am very confident that Benjamin will not only lead the Otto Group into a good economic future, but will also keep the special values of our family business alive."

Otto transferred its majority stake in Otto to a charitable foundation in 2014. "It was important to me that the family always has the say and that the headquarters of our company remain in Hamburg and cannot be relocated to some tax haven, for example," is his credo. Otto himself intends to devote more time to his foundation activities after his retirement, it was reported. These include the Michael Otto Environmental Foundation, founded in 1993.

Otto, son of company founder Werner Otto, joined the Otto Executive Board in 1971 and became Chairman in 1981, a position he held for 26 years. In 2007, Otto moved to the top of the Supervisory Board.

Benjamin Otto has been a member and "Shaping Partner" of the Otto Group's Board of Partners and a member of the Michael Otto Foundation Board since mid-2015. He had previously delivered his journeyman's piece by launching the online retail project Collins. Collins later evolved into the Group company About You, which is now listed on the stock exchange./kf/DP/stw