23.04.2012

Tanja Gönner new Chair of GIZ Management Board

Berlin. At its meeting today, the Supervisory Board of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH appointed the company’s new Management Board. Tanja Gönner, a member of the Baden-Württemberg parliament and a former minister in that state, has been appointed Chair of the Management Board. She will succeed Bernd Eisenblätter, who will be retiring in mid-2012. Christoph Beier was appointed Deputy Chair. Further appointments were current Managing Director Tom Pätz and Cornelia Richter, Director General of GIZ’s Sectoral Department. Hans-Joachim Preuß retains his seat on the Management Board.

Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Chair of GIZ’s Supervisory Board, welcomed the appointments. He said, ‘This is a good mix of people, temperaments and experience, putting GIZ in an optimal position to continue the growth it has already embarked on. It can continue to provide the best possible support to the German Government’s international cooperation work and operate efficiently and effectively right across all services. These range from climate advice in the emerging economies to poverty reduction in developing countries and in-service training for managers in industrialised countries.’

Tanja Gönner thanked the Supervisory Board for the trust it had placed in her, adding ‘I’m looking forward to my new role. I will be working with the new Management Board to make GIZ one of the world’s leading providers of international cooperation services, not only overall but also in the new challenges of ensuring universal access to energy and facilitating climate change mitigation and adaptation. I know I can build on a very solid foundation, with a skilled and highly committed workforce.’

In making these appointments, the Supervisory Board is implementing the resolution adopted by the shareholder (the Federal Republic of Germany) on 13 December 2010 to reduce the size of the Management Board to five, of whom at least two are women. The new Board takes office on 1July 2012.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal organisation with worldwide operations. It supports the German Government in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and in international education work. GIZ helps people and societies improve their prospects and living conditions.