Wintershall Dea proposes Stefan Schnell as new CEO following Harbour Energy transaction

The shareholders of Wintershall Dea, BASF and LetterOne, will propose Stefan Schnell and Larissa Janz to Wintershall Dea’s Supervisory Board as new members of the Management Board, the company announced on Wednesday.

After the appointment, they will take over the management of the company as of completion of the transaction with Harbour Energy. BASF, LetterOne and Harbour Energy signed an agreement on 21 December 2023 to sell the E&P business of Wintershall Dea, excluding Russia-related activities, to Harbour Energy. They are currently working on receiving the required regulatory approvals and preparing the integration. Closing of the transaction is targeted for Q4 2024. 

As of the closing of the transaction, Stefan Schnell, currently SVP Group Reporting & Performance Management at BASF SE, would become Chairperson (CEO) of Wintershall Dea. Larissa Janz, currently VP Special Projects at Wintershall Dea, would then assume the role of Deputy Chairperson (Deputy CEO) of Wintershall Dea, the company said.

Chief Executive Officer Mario Mehren, Chief Operating Officer Dawn Summers, and Chief Financial Officer Paul Smith will remain members of Wintershall Dea’s Management Board until the transaction closes and will then resign from their mandates.

Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Wintershall Dea, said: “On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Mario Mehren, Dawn Summers, and Paul Smith already now for their outstanding work and for everything they have achieved for Wintershall Dea in a rather difficult environment in recent years.  I would particularly like to thank Mario Mehren, who, together with the Management Board, successfully led first Wintershall and then Wintershall Dea for almost 10 years as Chief Executive Officer.”

In addition, he said: “With Stefan Schnell and Larissa Janz two excellent candidates will be proposed to the Supervisory Board to lead Wintershall Dea following the closing of the transaction with Harbour Energy.”

Wintershall Dea’s E&P business, which will be transferred to Harbour Energy, includes production and development assets and exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn) as well as Wintershall Dea’s carbon storage (CCS) licences. Wintershall Dea’s headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg and the approximately 850 employees there are not part of the transaction.

Upon completion of the transaction with Harbour Energy, Wintershall Dea’s main tasks will include the handling of claims related to the expropriation of the Russian assets, the sale of the remaining assets, the organisational restructuring, and ultimately, the closure of the headquarters’ units in Kassel and Hamburg. In addition, Wintershall Dea will provide some transitional services to Harbour Energy for a period of up to 12 months. To implement the required restructuring and ultimately the closure of the headquarters in a socially responsible manner, the company is currently negotiating a reconciliation of interests and a social plan with the works council, the company said.