Hamburg - 22 March 2013. Markus Schürholz, Chief Financial Officer of Praktiker AG, is leaving the Management Board at his own request effective 31 May 2013. The Supervisory Board confirmed the corresponding agreement reached by mutual consent.

Schürholz has held the position of Chief Financial Officer since September 2010 and in this function materially contributed to the strategic and financial restructuring of Praktiker AG. After successfully concluding the most difficult phase of the company's restructuring, Schürholz will now pursue a new career opportunity outside the Group.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Erhard F. Grossnigg: "The Supervisory Board thanks Mr. Schürholz for the work he has done, especially for the fact that, with a high degree of personal commitment, he created the strategic and financial conditions needed for implementing the realignment and thus shaping the future of the company. Mr. Schürholz stood solid as a rock in this truly critical phase. We owe him a debt of gratitude and wish him all the best."

The Supervisory Board appointed Ulrich Gehrmann to succeed him in the position of Chief Financial Officer. Gehrmann served as Member of die Management Board of the embedded computer manufacturer Kontron AG until the end of 2012 and will take up his functions after the Annual General Meeting of Praktiker AG on 1 June 2013.

Dr. Erhard F. Grossnigg: "There will be no vacuum in the position of Chief Financial Officer because, with Mr. Gehrmann, a crisis-proofed expert is joining the company."


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