- Push-out Score determined
- No successor named
(exechange) — Vienna, Austria, April 26, 2021 — Rainer Seele, chief executive of OMV, prepares for his departure. As announced by OMV AG in a regulatory statement published on Monday, April 26, 2021, Rainer Seele is preparing to leave his post as chief executive officer at the Austrian multinational integrated oil and gas company after seven years in the role.
The announcement of Rainer Seele’s move comes seven months after Mark Garrett took over as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of OMV AG.
Rainer Seele’s current term of office will end automatically on June 30, 2022.
Long goodbye
It is a long goodbye. The announcement of Rainer Seele’s move comes up to 14 months prior to his planned departure from the post of CEO.
In general, a top executive who announces the departure particularly early may be considered a lame duck.
Lengthy lead times give boards extra time to find replacements, and they also create uncertainty. Would-be successors may jockey for attention and workers may wonder who is actually in charge.
Generally speaking, lame-duck leaders can take a forceful role in selecting a successor and are not expected to launch major shifts.
OMV did not yet name a replacement for the position of Chief Executive Officer.
No reason given
In the announcement, OMV did not explicitly explain the reason for Rainer Seele’s move, leaving room for speculation.
Precise information regarding Rainer Seele’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Will not make use of the extension option”
OMV said: “Today, the Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of OMV, Rainer Seele, has notified the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Mark Garrett that he will not make use of the extension option for one additional year.”
Share price increase since July 2015
The announcement follows an increase in OMV AG’s share price of 74% since July 2015. July 2015 is the month in which Seele’s tenure as CEO began.
Chaired by Mark Garrett
Mark Garrett serves as OMV AG’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
In the position of CEO since 2015
Rainer Seele became CEO of the Company in 2015.
Rainer Seele received his PhD in Chemistry from the University Göttingen and in 1987 became Head of Group Chemical Research and Head of Planning and Controlling in an international chemicals group.
Within the same group he became Member of the Executive Board (in 2000) and then Chairman of the Executive Board at a company in the Gas-sector.
From 2009 until 2015 he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of an international oil & gas company within the same group.
Since July 1, 2015 Rainer Seele has been Chief Executive Officer of OMV Aktiengesellschaft.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Rainer Seele’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to OMV and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 18.2021 ($).