IGTA Journal - Winter 2020/2021

comes to M&A. There have been smaller takeovers in the range of double digit or triple digit million amounts but nothing comparable to the billion-transactions from former years. For me there is at first always the question as to the strategic sense of an acquisition. This can be different from division to division. In some of them it would be very difficult to identify a reasonable target – here I think for instance of our Express – Division. The markets in the divisions Global Forwarding, Freight and Supply Chain are more fragmented; in principle, an acquisition would rather make sense here. However, many corporations presently are valued extremely highly, what makes transactions at attractive conditions difficult. So your answer is also No? I do not categorically say no to acquisitions. Our focus however is clearly on organic growth in our core businesses. There are still wonderful possibilities for this. The interview was made by Detlef Fechtner and Martin Dunzendorfer About the Person Expert in M&A Md – Since September 2016 Melanie Kreis is CFO of the Deutsche Post DHL Group ( DPDHL ). The 49 year old was already a member of the board of management since October 2014; she started as being responsible for human ressources. In 1997 Kreis had started her career at McKinsey, and had then changed over to the financial investor APAX, before in 2004 taking over for DPDHL the management position for international M&A projects. So Kreis was heading after the acquisition of the Exel Group in 2005 the integration of the logistics division of the Group. Also she was materially involved in the sale of the Postbank to the Deutsche Bank. Before being called into the board of management she was CFO of the DHL Division Express. Kreis, who is regarded as friendly and colleagial, and is mother of 2 children, has got a master´s degree in physics in 1994 in New York. 1997 she finished her study of physics in Bonn, Germany, with a diploma. In 2000 she added the MBA of the French elite university INSEAD. Forbes has her in the ranking of the 100 worldwide most powerful women as one of 4 Germans on rank 65 ( See Börsenzeitung of Deecember 11, 2012 ). From Börsenzeitung, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, December 12, 2020. Responsible for English translation: GEFIU, the Association of Chief Financial Officers Germany, the German IGTA Member Association, translator: Helmut Schnabel IGTA eJournal | Winter 2020/21 | 26