Veteran figurehead of Kuehne + Nagel International was also significant shareholder of German airline group.
German logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kuehne, the largest shareholder in Lufthansa Group, has passed away at the age of 89.
Kuehne was the honorary chair of the Swiss-based logistics company Kuehne + Nagel International, originally joining the family business in 1958.
He became chief executive of the company in 1975 and, from 1992, served as its board chair.
At the end of last year he still controlled Kuehne Holding, which has 55% of the firm.
Kuehne invested in Lufthansa Group, through the entity Kuehne Aviation, as the airline company emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic around 2022.
The entity’s shareholding increased in stages, to about 10% and then 15%, and Lufthansa Group currently lists it as having 20% – significantly ahead of other investors.
“We have lost a visionary, a great entrepreneur and an extraordinary personality,” says Kuehne + Nagel International chair Joerg Wolle.
Chief executive Stefan Paul adds that he “embodied logistics and global trade like no other”.
Kuehne’s maritime division also retains 30% of logistics company Hapag-Lloyd.
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