Committee activities

The Supervisory Board has established a total of four committees in order to perform the duties entrusted to it: the Executive Committee, the Nomination Committee, the Mediation Committee in accordance with section 27(3) of the Mitbestimmungsgesetz (MitbestG – German Codetermination Act) and the Audit Committee. The Executive Committee consists of three shareholder representatives and three employee representatives. The members of the Nomination Committee are the shareholder representatives on the Executive Committee; the remaining two committees are each composed of two shareholder representatives and two employee representatives. The members of the committees as of December 31, 2014 are given in chapter "Executive Bodies" of this annual report.

The Executive Committee met seven times during the past fiscal year. These meetings primarily served to prepare in detail the resolutions by the Supervisory Board and to deal with contractual issues concerning the Board of Management other than remuneration.

The Nomination Committee is responsible for proposing suitable candidates for the Supervisory Board to recommend for election to the Annual General Meeting. The Committee met once during 2014.

The Mediation Committee did not have to be convened in the reporting period.

The Audit Committee held four meetings in fiscal year 2014. It focused primarily on the consolidated financial statements, risk management (including the internal control system), and the work performed by the Company’s compliance organization. In addition, the Audit Committee addressed the Group’s quarterly reports and the half-yearly financial report as well as current financial reporting issues and their examination by the auditors.

Furthermore, the shareholder and employee representatives generally met for separate preliminary discussions before each of the Supervisory Board meetings.