A VISIONARY and a great entrepreneur is how Klaus-Michael Kühne has been remembered.
The respected industry figure died on Monday night at the age of 89 in Schindellegi, Switzerland.
In a statement from logistics company Kuehne+Nagel, the board of directors, the management board and employees of Kuehne+Nagel International AG expressed their sorrow.
“With the passing of Klaus-Michael, we have lost a visionary, a great entrepreneur and an extraordinary personality. Our thoughts are with his widow Christine Kühne. The board of directors and the entire company will honour Klaus-Michael Kühne’s memory with the utmost respect and gratitude,” said Dr. Joerg Wolle, chair of the board of directors of Kuehne+Nagel International AG.
Klaus-Michael Kühne joined the family business Kuehne+Nagel in 1958 and became chairman of the management board of Kuehne+Nagel Speditions-Aktiengesellschaft in 1966.
From 1975, he served as chief executive of Kuehne+Nagel International AG and from 1992 to 2011 as chairman of its board of directors. Since 2011, he held the position of honorary chairman of the board of directors.
Throughout his long and successful career, he played a pioneering role in shaping global trade and made a lasting contribution to modern logistics and the development of today’s global supply chains.
“The news of Klaus-Michael Kühne’s passing has deeply saddened us all. Klaus-Michael Kühne embodied logistics and global trade like no other,” said Stefan Paul, chief executive of Kuehne+Nagel International AG.
“On behalf of the Management Board and the employees of Kuehne+Nagel, we extend our deepest sympathies to his family.”
As reported in Reuters, Mr Kuehne, the grandson of company co-founder August Kuehne, also held significant stakes in German groups Lufthansa, Hapag-Lloyd and chemicals trade group Brenntag, as well as bus and train services operator Flix.