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Information according to Sec. 243b of the BusineSS Code / Governing Bodies
Corporate Governance Report
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Corporate Governance Report
Information according to Sec. 243b of the
Business Code
PALFINGER is committed to the standards of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance
(www.corporate-governance.at) and complies with nearly all rules of the Code. In accordance with
legal provisions, this commitment is evaluated by an external auditor. The evaluation result confirms
that corporate governance is genuinely put into practice at PALFINGER. The audited questionnaire is
made available to all interested parties on the Company’s website (www.palfinger.com).
www.palfinger.com
Investor Relations
Corporate Governance
Commitment to CG
Governing Bodies and the Operations of the
Management and Supervisory Boards according
to Sec. 243b Para. 2 of the BusineSS Code
According to the Austrian Companies Act (AktG), the Management Board of PALFINGER AG
manages the Company under its own responsibility in such a manner as is in the best interest of
the Company, taking into consideration the interests of the employees and of the shareholders as
well as the public interest. Loyalty towards one’s colleagues, an open mind, a regular exchange of
information and fast decision-making processes are among the Company’s supreme principles. The
Supervisory Board supervises the management and assists the Management Board in significant
decisions. Open communication between the Management Board and the Supervisory Board and
also within the respective Boards has a long-standing tradition at PALFINGER. At its meetings held
in 2011, the Supervisory Board primarily discussed the ongoing business operations in the context
of the current economic environment, measures to cut costs and the capital employed, projects of
acquisition and expansion, risk management as well as the forecast for 2012.
At present there are no women on either the Supervisory Board or the Management Board or in
any top management positions at PALFINGER. Even in the levels below that, the share of women
in executive positions is low and/or limited to administrative positions.
PALFINGER intends to change this situation in the medium term. To this end, PALFINGER has increased
the Company’s presence at job fairs and has specifically addressed prospective female applicants
of high potential. When new executive positions are created or existing ones become vacant,
PALFINGER is making a greater effort to encourage women to apply for such positions. However, one
problem in this regard is that technical training is a prerequisite for the majority of executive positions
at PALFINGER. The proportion of female engineers is extremely low which is often why no women
apply for a position in the Company. Nevertheless, PALFINGER will continue its efforts to step up the
percentage of women in the management development programmes.
32 palfinger Annual Report 2011