At the same time, Jochen Eschborn was appointed Chairman of the Management Board. With this step, Verbund is initiating a generational change in its top operational management body that is set to last several years. Grabowski was previously a member of the Executive Board and will be primarily responsible for the strategic direction and communication of the association.

"Continuity and reliability are the cornerstones of ELVIS AG. That is why it was important for us to arrange the succession of Jochen Eschborn, who has successfully led the association since its foundation, at an early stage," says Michael Wangler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. In addition, the aim was to avoid an abrupt change at the top of Verbund. "Nikolja Grabowski has had an impressive career at ELVIS since 2017 and was most recently a member of the management team. He has therefore been very familiar with both the company and the affiliated partners for many years," says Wangler.

The 35-year-old political scientist began his career at the Alzenau-based association in project management, where he worked in connection with the claims for damages against the truck cartel. From 2018, he successfully built up and managed the Political Communications department. Nikolja Grabowski was granted power of attorney in May 2020. Since then, his area of responsibility has grown steadily. Jochen Eschborn, CEO of ELVIS AG: "Apart from that, the collaboration with Nikolja Grabowski is also extremely pleasant on a personal level." As a member of the Management Board, the 35-year-old is now primarily responsible for the areas of partner support, communication and network development.

With the expansion of the Management Board, ELVIS is pursuing the goal of a smooth and seamless generational change. In this context, it is planned to appoint an additional Management Board at the beginning of next year in order to bundle responsibility for the operational business. Jochen Eschborn, initiator and one of the founding fathers of the association, will remain on the Board as Chairman in the coming years and will gradually hand over his responsibilities to his successors.