ZURICH: The billionaire Brenninkmeijer family’s holding company has named a sixth-generation member as its new chairman, accelerating the succession plans for one of Europe’s richest business dynasties.
Florian Brenninkmeyer, 40, is set to become chair of Cofra Holding AG’s board in April, stepping down from his current role as the Swiss firm’s chief financial officer, the company said in a statement.
He’ll replace Martijn Brenninkmeijer, a 56-year-old veteran and fifth-generation member of the Dutch-German dynasty behind clothing giant C&A, who has served as the holding company’s chair since 2018.
The appointment highlights how a new generation of leaders is increasingly taking over the Brenninkmeijer business empire as they push to break away from a long-held tradition of just managing family wealth.
The Swiss company now oversees more than €40bil (US$45bil) of total assets, adding billions within the last few years as it’s attracted larger sums of outside cash. — Bloomberg
