Recruitment of Members of Executive Bodies

In accordance with the German Corporate Governance Code, the Supervisory Board and the Management Board must be composed in such a way that these bodies/their members as a group have the knowledge, ability and specialist experience required to properly complete their tasks. The requirements were extended and set out by law with the entry into force of the CSR Directive Implementation Act. The Supervisory Board has adopted the following criteria and objectives for recruiting individuals to the Management and Supervisory Boards, taking the above mentioned requirements into account:

Recruitment of Members of the Supervisory Board

Composition: As a listed company that is not subject to codetermination, the Supervisory Board of Vonovia SE is to include twelve members, an appropriate number of whom are to be independent within the meaning of the Code. All members should have sufficient time available to perform the duties associated with their mandate with due regularity and care.

When proposing candidates to fill new Supervisory Board positions to the Annual General Meeting, the Supervisory Board should have performed an extensive review to ensure that the candidates standing for election meet the corresponding professional and personal requirements (see below) and must disclose the candidates’ personal and business-related relationships with the company, the governing bodies of the company and any shareholders with a material interest in the company. Shareholders are deemed to hold a material interest if they hold more than 10% of the voting shares in the company, either directly or indirectly.

Other general criteria governing composition include:

• No more than two former members of the Management Board shall be members of the Supervisory Board.
• Supervisory Board members shall not exercise directorships or similar positions or advisory tasks for important competitors of the company.
• If a (designated) member belongs to the management board of a listed company, this member shall not accept more than a total of three supervisory board mandates in non-group listed companies or on supervisory bodies of non-group entities that make similar requirements.
• The standard limit for length of membership on the Supervisory Board has been set at a maximum of 15 years.
• The age limit has been set at 75 at the time of election to the Supervisory Board.

Skills profile: The Supervisory Board of Vonovia SE should be composed so as to ensure qualified supervision of, and provision of advice to, the Management Board. The candidates nominated for election to the Supervisory Board should be able, on the basis of their knowledge, skills and professional experience, to perform the duties of a Supervisory Board member of a listed real estate company that is active on the international capital market.

In terms of their personality, the candidates nominated for election should show integrity, professionalism and commitment. The aim is to ensure that the Supervisory Board as a whole offers all of the knowledge and experience that the Group considers to be important for ensuring Vonovia’s operational and financial further development.

Independence: The Supervisory Board shall only include members that it considers to be independent. Material conflicts of interest that are not merely of a temporary nature, e.g. arising from functions on executive bodies or advisory roles performed at the company’s major competitors, should be avoided. A Supervisory Board member is, in particular, not to be considered independent if they have personal or business relations with the company, its bodies, a controlling shareholder or a company associated with such a shareholder that may cause a substantial and not merely temporary conflict of interest.

Diversity: When nominating candidates for election, the Supervisory Board should also take diversity into account. In accordance with the German Act on the Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions in the Private Sector and the Public Sector (Gesetz für die gleichberechtigte Teilhabe von Frauen und Männern an Führungspositionen in Privatwirtschaft und im öffentlichen Dienst), the Supervisory Board should comprise at least 30% women and 30% men. In addition, at least one woman should be a member of the Nomination Committee. Vonovia’s Supervisory Board should meet both criteria.

When assessing potential candidates for reelection or to fill a Supervisory Board position that has become vacant, qualified women should be included in the selection process and given appropriate consideration when the nominations are made.

Target Achievement: The objectives regarding the composition of the Supervisory Board set out above have been met:

There are four female members of the Supervisory Board (33%). Hildegard Müller, Clara-Christina Streit and Dr. Ariane Reinhart are members of the Executive and Nomination Committee. All 12 members of the Supervisory Board are considered by the latter to be independent within the meaning of No. 5.4.2 of the GCGC. The main knowledge, skills and professional experience of the Supervisory Board members are summarized in the table below. The Report of the Supervisory Board in this Annual Report includes a table showing meeting attendance.  It shows that all members performed the duties associated with their mandate with due regularity.

Recruitment of Members of the Management Board

In accordance with the German Corporate Governance Code, the Management Board is responsible for managing the company in the best interests of the company, meaning that it considers the needs of the shareholders, the employees and other stakeholders, with the objective of sustainable value creation. The Management Board develops the strategy for the company, agrees it with the Supervisory Board and ensures its implementation. The Management Board ensures that all provisions of law and the company’s internal policies are complied with, and endeavors to achieve their compliance by the Group entities (compliance). The Management Board is also responsible for ensuring appropriate risk management and risk control and, when filling management positions, must take the diversity principles into account in accordance with the objectives that have been set internally.

Composition: In accordance with the Articles of Association, the Management Board of Vonovia SE consists of at least two members. The Supervisory Board appoints the Management Board members in accordance with the Articles of Association and the law. The Supervisory Board can appoint a Chairman of the Management Board and a Deputy Chairman of the Management Board.

The decisions made by the Supervisory Board on the composition of the Management Board should be based on a careful analysis of the existing and future challenges facing the company.

The Management Board of Vonovia SE should be composed so as to ensure that, as the management body, it can perform the duties set out above reliably and in full. When taken as a whole, it should combine all of the knowledge and experience required to ensure that the Group can pursue its operational and financial objectives in an effective and sustainable manner in the interests of the shareholders and other stakeholders.

While membership of the Management Board is not limited to a certain period of time, the contract of employment of a Management Board member ends when the member turns 67 at the latest.

Skills profile: Newly appointed Management Board members should be able, on the basis of their knowledge, skills and professional experience, to reliably perform the duties assigned to them in a listed real estate company that is active on the international capital market. In addition to having good professional and fundamental general qualifications, they should also show integrity, professionalism and commitment.

Independence: The Management Board should perform its management duties in a manner that is free of any conflicts of interest. Functions on executive bodies or advisory roles performed at major competitors of the company should be avoided.

Diversity: When looking for candidates to fill a Management Board position that has become vacant, the Supervisory Board should include qualified women in the selection process and give them appropriate consideration. Gender should be irrelevant when it comes to filling Management Board positions. The Supervisory Board has set a target of at least 20% women on the Management Board, to be met by December 31, 2021. For the two levels of management below the Management Board, the target for the proportion of women is 30%.

Target Achievement: The objectives regarding the composition of the Management Board set out above have been met in full. The Management Board consists of one female and three male members who are able to manage the Group appropriately on the basis of their experience and skills. At the time at which this declaration was made, the first level of management below the Management Board still comprises 17.6% women, as the corresponding group of employees remains unchanged. The aim is to use corresponding succession planning to have achieved the new target of 30% by December 31, 2021. At 33.9%, the targeted proportion of women set by the Management Board for the second level of management below the Management Board has already been met.