Ceconomy to propose CFO Remko Rijnders to replace outgoing CEO

BERLIN (Reuters) - Ceconomy said on Friday that it would propose Chief Financial Officer Remko Rijnders to replace Kai-Ulrich Deissner as the company's chief executive.

The German electronics retailer said earlier on Friday that Deissner, who only took over as CEO last year, was stepping down for personal reasons. Deissner told Reuters in an interview that the supervisory board was set to meet on Thursday to discuss his succession.

Deissner served as chief financial officer at Ceconomy since February 2023 before being appointed to the CEO role in May 2025. Rijnders took his place as CFO at the time.

Ceconomy is about to be taken over by Chinese tech group JD.com.

Deissner, who has supported the takeover by JD.com, said regulatory approval of the acquisition was expected in the first half of this year.

Ceconomy, which owns the MediaMarkt and Saturn electronics retail chains, aims to benefit from JD.com particularly in the areas of logistics and technology.