The annual general shareholders’ meeting of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG has today appointed Prof. Dr. Georg Frank, Saxon State Minister Sven Morlok and Erich Staake to the supervisory Board. Erich Staake was elected the new chairman of the supervisory board. As a result, the company has gained a well-known representative of the transport and logistics sector.

Erich Staake, a graduate in business management, was born in Hildesheim in 1953 and he is the chairman of the board at Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport). He has turned the port at Duisburg into the largest logistics centre in Europe and has made a name for himself by acting as a mediator between the worlds of business and politics. Prior to this, he was a manager and held other positions at Preussag AG, Bertelsmann AG, Philipp Holzmann AG and Wella AG.

"Erich Staake will provide support for the successful course being pursued by Leipzig/Halle and Dresden Airports in future. His task will involve establishing the European logistics centre of Leipzig/Halle as a hub for global flows of goods, but also further developing passenger traffic at our airports,” said Prof. Dr. Georg Unland, Saxon State Minister of Finances and representative of the majority shareholder.

The other new appointments to the supervisory board were Sven Morlok, Saxon State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport, and Prof. Dr. Georg Frank, chairman of the board at the Industrial Initiative for Central Germany and a former managing director of Bayer Bitterfeld GmbH.

The previous chairman of the supervisory board, Willi Hermsen, had stepped down at his own request on age grounds after serving five years in the post. The supervisory board acknowledged his commitment to the expansion of Leipzig/Halle and Dresden Airports, most of which was completed during his time in office.

Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding is the overall trade name used by Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG, a company operated by the public sector. The group has several subsidiary companies: Leipzig/Halle Airport, Dresden International, PortGround and EasternAirCargo.

The group handled 96,892 aircraft movements, 4.32 million passengers and 442.750 tonnes of freight in 2008. The group directly employs 970 members of staff and trainees. More than 7000 people are employed at the Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG business sites in various companies and public authorities.