German Corporate Governance Code

C. Composition of the Supervisory Board

I. General requirements
Principle 10	The Supervisory Board consists of shareholder representatives, and of employee representatives, if applicable. Shareholder representatives are usually elected by the General Meeting. The applicable co-determination acts stipulate – depending on the number of employees and the respective industry sector – if and how many Supervisory Board members must be elected by employees. Shareholder representatives and employee representatives are obliged in equal measure to act in the best interests of the enterprise.
Principle 11	The composition of the Supervisory Board has to ensure that its members collectively possess the knowledge, skills and professional expertise required to properly perform their duties; furthermore, the legal gender quota must be considered.
Recommendations:
C.1	The Supervisory Board shall determine specific objectives regarding its composition, and shall prepare a profile of skills and expertise for the entire Board while taking the principle of diversity into account. The Supervisory Board’s skills and expertise profile shall also comprise expertise regarding sustainability issues relevant to the enterprise. Proposals by the Supervisory Board to the General Meeting shall take these objectives into account, while simultaneously aiming at fulfilling the overall profile of required skills and expertise of the Supervisory Board. The implementation status shall be disclosed in the form of a qualification matrix in the Corporate Governance Statement. This statement shall also provide information about what the shareholder representatives on the Supervisory Board regard as the appropriate number of independent Supervisory Board members representing shareholders, and the names of these members.
C.2	An age limit shall be specified for members of the Supervisory Board and disclosed in the Corporate Governance Statement.
C.3	The term of Supervisory Board membership shall be disclosed.

Principle 12	Each Supervisory Board member ensures that they have sufficient time available to discharge their duties.
Recommendations:
C.4	A Supervisory Board member who is not a member of any Management Board of a listed company shall not accept more than five Supervisory Board mandates at non-group listed companies or comparable functions, with an appointment as Chair of the Supervisory Board being counted twice.
C.5	Members of the Management Board of a listed company shall not have, in aggregate, more than two Supervisory Board mandates in non-group listed companies or comparable functions, and shall not accept the Chairmanship of a Supervisory Board in a non-group listed company.

II. Independence of Supervisory Board members
Recommendations:
C.6	The Supervisory Board shall include what it considers to be an appropriate number of independent members from the group of shareholder representatives, thereby taking into account the shareholder structure. Within the meaning of this recommendation, a Supervisory Board member is considered independent if he/she is independent from the company and its Management Board, and independent from any controlling shareholder.
C.7	More than half of the shareholder representatives shall be independent from the company and the Management Board. Supervisory Board members are to be considered independent from the company and its Management Board if they have no personal or business relationship with the company or its Management Board that may cause a substantial – and not merely temporary – conflict of interest. When assessing the independence of Supervisory Board members from the company and its Management Board, shareholder representatives shall particularly take into consideration the following aspects; whether the respective Supervisory Board member – or a close family member: was a member of the company's Management Board in the two years prior to appointment; whether he/she currently is maintaining (or has maintained) a material business relationship with the company or one of the entities dependent upon the company (e.g. as customer, supplier, lender or advisor) in the year up to his/her appointment, directly or as a shareholder, or in a leading position of a non-group entity; whether he/she is a close family member of a Management Board member; or, whether he/she has been a member of the Supervisory Board for more than twelve years.
C.8	If one or more of the indicators set out in recommendation C.7 are met and the Supervisory Board member concerned is still considered independent, the reasons for this shall be given in the Corporate Governance Statement.
C.9	If the company has a controlling shareholder, and the Supervisory Board comprises more than six members, at least two shareholder representatives shall be independent from the controlling shareholder. If the Supervisory Board comprises six members or less, at least one shareholder representative shall be independent from the controlling shareholder. A Supervisory Board member is considered independent from the controlling shareholder if he/she, or a close family member, is neither a controlling shareholder nor a member of the executive governing body of the controlling shareholder, and does not have a personal or business relationship with the controlling shareholder that may cause a substantial – and not merely temporary – conflict of interest.
C.10	The Chair of the Supervisory Board, the Chair of the Audit Committee, as well as the Chair of the committee that addresses Management Board remuneration, shall be independent from the company and the Management Board. The Chair of the Audit Committee shall also be independent from the controlling shareholder.
C.11	No more than two former members of the Management Board shall be members of the Supervisory Board.
C.12	Supervisory Board members shall not be members of governing bodies of, or exercise advisory functions at, significant competitors of the enterprise, and shall not hold any personal relationships with a significant competitor.

III. Elections to the Supervisory Board
Recommendations:
C.13	In its election proposals to the General Meeting, the Supervisory Board shall disclose the personal and business relationships of every candidate with the enterprise, the governing bodies of the company, and any shareholders with a material interest in the company. The disclosure recommendation is limited to information and circumstances that, in the opinion of the Supervisory Board, an objectively judging shareholder would consider decisive for their election decision. A material interest in the meaning of this recommendation refers to shareholders who directly or indirectly hold more than 10% of the voting shares of the company.
C.14	The proposal for a candidate shall be accompanied by a curriculum vitae, providing information on the candidate’s relevant knowledge, skills and professional experience; it shall be supplemented by an overview of the candidate’s material activities in addition to the Supervisory Board mandate, and shall be updated annually for all Supervisory Board members and published on the entity’s website.
C.15	Shareholder representatives shall be elected individually. Where an application is made for the appointment of a Supervisory Board member – representing shareholders – by the Court, the term of that member shall be limited until the next General Meeting.