Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, DB Board Member for Freight Transport and DB Cargo CEO: "We have a historic window of opportunity. Germany and Europe need a growing rail freight sector that develops new strength." More women in management positions is a declared goal in the DB Group and an important concern for Nikutta: "Word has gotten around that diversity in top management is a very clear success factor."

Together with newcomer Dr. Martina Niemann and Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Ursula Biernert, whose contract has been extended for a further five years, the six-member Executive Board team headed by Dr. Sigrid Nikutta will in future consist of three women, making it 50 percent female.

Dr. Martina Niemann has been newly appointed to the Management Board. She is returning to DB Cargo and thus to DB as Board Member for Finance and Controlling. Niemann most recently worked for Lufthansa. She has over 25 years of management experience in large corporations and at Deutsche Bahn.

On July 1, 2020, Niemann will take over the finance department from Matthias Reichel, who will take on other tasks within the Group. "With eleven years in the CFO position, Matthias Reichel is the longest-serving member of the Management Board. I would like to expressly thank him for his services to DB Cargo and the good cooperation over all this time. Matthias Reichel has also successfully integrated the DB Cargo subsidiaries in the UK and Spain into the network and made them fit for the future," says Dr. Richard Lutz.

Thorsten Dieter was also appointed to the DB Cargo Management Board. He will be in charge of the new Board department Supply Management from May 1, 2020. The industrial engineer has worked in management at DB Cargo for more than 15 years, most recently as Head of Service Design. The aim of the newly created department is to develop fast, reliable and attractive offers for national and international customers. The aim is also to make single wagonload transport even more attractive to customers as a green alternative to trucks.

The third appointment is Ralf-Günter Kloß as the new Head of Production, also from 1 May 2020. The former Head of Cargo Management Region West has over 20 years of experience in various management positions at DB Cargo. He is currently pushing ahead with the further development of production in order to make DB Cargo's operational processes more robust.

In return, Marek Staszek will return to the position of CEO of DB Cargo Polska. DB thanks him for his successes over the past year: DB Cargo is benefiting from more punctual freight trains, among other things, and can build on the initial measures for more stable production processes. The previous head of the Polish subsidiary, Steffen Bobsien, returns to Frankfurt/Mainz at the request of the Management Board and becomes Special Representative of the Chairwoman of the Management Board for strategic investment and innovation projects. Pierre Timmermans from the Netherlands will continue his previous work as Board Member for Sales at DB Cargo.