"Shadow boss, farce"

XXXX

Stefan Pierer's withdrawal from his role as CEO of KTM and Pierer Mobility is causing many reactions.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Markus Wenzel)

It's a bombshell as the battle for the bankrupt motorcycle manufacturer rages on: owner Stefan Pierer is leaving the top chair at Pierer Mobility AG and KTM AG and stepping into the second row. The new boss is Gottfried Neumeister. This is what politicians, investor representatives, insolvency experts and krone.at readers think about the move.

"For me, KTM has always been more than just a company," Stefan Pierer said after it became known that the owner of the motorcycle manufacturer, which had slipped into bankruptcy, was leaving the executive chair of KTM AG and Pierer Mobility AG, stepping down to the second row and becoming Co-Managing Director. Gottfried Neumeister, who had acted as Co-Managing Director since September, is now at the helm of the company.

"Handover demonstrates a great sense of responsibility"
The departure of Pierer, who described KTM as his life's work when the insolvency proceedings were opened and which he intends to fight for, leaves very few people indifferent. "Stefan Pierer is now doing everything he can to make a successful restructuring possible, so the handover of leadership also shows a great sense of responsibility," says Upper Austrian Councillor for Economic Affairs Markus Achleitner. "I already heard rumors last year that he wanted to retire. The move comes as no surprise to me," says Michael Seemayer, regional managing director of the PRO-GE trade union. Andreas Stangl, President of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor, says: "The partial withdrawal and reorganization can only be the beginning to save the site and as many jobs as possible."

Stefan Pierer is basically the face of insolvency. Trust is very important in business. If you have new contacts here, trust can be built up accordingly.

Karl-Heinz Götze, Leiter Insolvenz beim KSV1870 

Even though the company describes the change at the top as a "generational change", pressure from banks and financial institutions is also likely to have played a role in Pierer's decision to withdraw at this precise moment. "Creditor banks regularly demand that those responsible for insolvency vacate their posts. It remains to be seen whether half a back-page move in the form of the abbreviation Co before CEO is enough for them," says Florian Beckermann from the Vienna-based investor association, "a shadow CEO is difficult for Gottfried Neumeister in any case.

Mr. Neumeister has now stepped into the first row and Mr. Pierer into the second. This is one stage in a handover. I assume that Mr. Pierer will retire in the medium to long term.

Peter Vogl, Sanierungsverwalter der KTM AG

"I am proud to be able to continue his legacy"
The move by Pierer to hand over responsibility to the former Do&Co board member is also hotly debated on krone.at. "So much for his life's work," writes one. "Shameful" and "really ridiculous" is how others comment on the change of boss at KTM, which had been planned for some time, as Neumeister underlined on Friday: "It was already agreed last summer that I would initially start as co-CEO. I am proud to be able to continue his legacy. I will certainly do this with caution, but you also have to take bold new steps."

On krone.at, one user cannot imagine Stefan Pierer in the second row: "No matter who does the business now, Pierer is still the owner and even co-CEO." The word "farce" is also used in this context.

Rosenbauer entry leaves a pale aftertaste
The move is not surprising, says one of them: "Everyone saw this coming. Someone who has lost focus to such an extent and drags this company into the abyss within a few years must not remain at the top." With regard to the entry of the Robau consortium around Stefan Pierer, Mark Mateschitz and two companies of Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, one of them says: "Wanting to make investments elsewhere and leading your own company into insolvency. Great concept."