The background to the decision, which was arrived at by mutual consent, is the restructuring of the board of management adopted by the Supervisory Board in December of last year. 

Karl A. Schattmaier has been a member of the board of the Frankfurt-based company for 14 years; in 1998 he became the chairman of the board. Among his achievements is the repositioning of the company and its brands initiated in 2003. Measures with which he made a major contribution to the consolidation of the company in difficult economic times.

André Witschi, who has been appointed as the chairman of the board of Steigenberger Hotels AG as of February 1, 2008, is also assuming Schattmaier�s tasks. Witschi will then be responsible for corporate development, operations, marketing and sales, human resources, as well as corporate communication. The area of finances and controlling continues to be headed by Matthias Heck.