Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> February 8, 1999
KLAUS-MICHAEL KUEHNE is CEO of Kuehne & Nagel International AG. Mr.
Kuehne heads the Kuehne & Nagel organization, one of the most
influential global forwarding and logistics enterprises, attaining an
annual turnover of more than 6 billion Swiss francs. Its 13,000
employees, stationed at 480 locations in 82 countries, are skilled in
every aspect of the worldwide transport trade ' over land, at sea and in
the air. The group's warehousing capacity totals 1.2 million square
meters. In addition to its classical forwarding divisions, the
organisation tackles a wide range of tasks in specialist areas such as
timber and paper transportation, customs clearance, trade fair services
and removals. The spectrum also includes port services, seaworthy
packing, travel agencies, insurance brokerage and ship brokerage. Mr.
Kuehne was born in Hamburg, Germany, on June 2, 1937 as the son of
forwarding merchant Alfred Kuehne. His grandfather August Kuehne,
together with Friedrich Nagel, had founded the Breman forwarding firm
Kuehne & Nagel in mid-1890. After his high school graduation, Klaus-
Michael Kuehne underwent a two-year banking apprenticeship, followed by
intensive training at related forwarding, ship operating and shipbroking
companies as well as in various European and overseas Kuehne & Nagel
branches. In 1963 Kuehne joined his father's company as a general
partner. Two years later he was appointed chairman of the newly-founded
Kuehne & Nagel Speditions-AG's management board. During the mid-70's '
after Alfred Kuehne had retired to the honorary chairmanship on the
supervisory board ' his son Klaus-Michael advanced to the positions of
sole limited partner of Kuehne & Nagel KG, Bremen, chairman of the board
of Kuehne & Nagel Speditions' AG, Breman, and delegate to the board of
directors of the holding company, Kuehne & Nagel International AG,
Pfaeffikon (from April 1992; Schindellegi), Switzerland, which since
1974 is the parent company of the whole organization. In May 1994,
Kuehne, together with the Viag group, one of Germany's Biggest
industrial concerns, realised the long-standing intention of converting
Kuehne & Nagel into a public company. The bearer shares of Kuehne &
Nagel International AG (18.1 per cent of the share capital) were
launched on the Zurich and Frankfurt stock exchanges. Today, Kuehne &
Nagel International AG holds controlling interests, either directly of
indirectly, in some 215 companies around the world. Most of these are
100 per cent owned subsidiaries, while the rest constitute najoirty or
50 percent holdings. Even after the new formation and extension of the
partner constellation, Klaus-Michael Kuehne continues to determine the
fate of the organization. He thus follows a 108-year family tradition as
the successor of his grandfather, founder August Kuehne, and his father,
Alfred Kuehne. Profile
little history.
Mr. Kuehne: We are an international freight forwarding and logistics
company. We have a network of
