Dr. Gerrit Krupp takes over as chairman of Hafenen und Güterverkehr Köln AG!

Dr. Gerrit Krupp takes over as chairman of Hafenen und Güterverkehr Köln AG!

The supervisory board of Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG (HGK) has a new chairman: Dr. Gerrit Krupp was elected to this office on June 11, 2025. The 47-year-old SPD politician has already made a name for himself in Cologne politics, particularly as a member of the city council since 2014, where he is active for the districts of Merheim, Ostheim and parts of Neubrück and Höhenberg. His special areas of expertise in the city council are law and order, and he also chairs the finance committee. His election follows the resignation of Susana dos Santos Herrmann, who surprisingly resigned from her position as chairwoman of the supervisory board after a personnel decision was made to succeed the previous CEO Uwe Wedig, reports rheinische-anzeigenblaetter.de.

Susana dos Santos Herrmann, who was only elected chairwoman of the supervisory board at the end of 2020, withdrew because she did not agree with the decision for Steffen Bauer to succeed Uwe Wedig. Wedig has headed the HGK since 2018 and his contract ends on September 30, 2025. Herrmann stated that she could not feel responsible for the wrong decision and therefore resigned from her position. A four-member search committee voted 3 to 1 in favor of Bauer, which led to an overwhelming majority in favor of his proposal at the supervisory board meeting. Ironically, Herrmann voted for an alternative candidate, according to the report Rundschau-online.de emerges.

New leadership duo

Dr. Gerrit Krupp is supported by Dirk Michel, who serves as deputy chairman of the supervisory board. Michel has made a name for himself as an expert in real estate valuation and thus brings valuable expertise to the committee work. Together, the new management team controls the fortunes of HGK, which has established itself as the largest inland shipping company in Europe and handles around 35 million tons of goods annually. Around 2,500 people work here, and the association operates the largest inland port network in Germany as well as one of the largest private freight railways report-k.de describes.

With Gerrit Krupp at the helm, we hope for new impulses and a breath of fresh air in the HGK. His political experience and ear for the city's concerns will now also be important for the company's strategic decisions. It remains to be seen how the changes will affect current projects and the future direction of the company.