This Week's Top Five Finance Leadership Stories

How Evonik’s New CFO Will ‘Crisis-Proof’ Financial Strategy

Decided by the company’s Supervisory Board meeting on 17 April, Evonik has extended CEO Christian Kullmann’s contract, who will remain in the position until 2030.

In addition, the company has appointed Michael Rauch as the company’s latest CFO. Both leadership decisions were agreed by the board unanimously.

Kullmann has been with the company since 2003 and was previously appointed Chief Strategy Officer in 2014 and has headed Evonik’s Management Board since May 2017. 

The Supervisory Board will officially extend Kullmann's contract at the company’s Annual General Meeting on June 3.

Discussing Christian’s leadership in a company statement, Bernd Tönjes, Supervisory Board Chairman, says: “Christian Kullmann stands for stability and continuity in challenging times.

“He has steered Evonik through difficult waters in recent years. The supervisory board is counting on the Executive Board to keep the course and continue to make Evonik fit for the future.”

He goes on to acknowledge Michael’s appointment as CFO, praising his experience in financial management during periods of market instability.

“In Michael Rauch, Evonik has found a CFO who has a great deal of experience with transformation.

“We are convinced that he combines the best qualities overall to make Evonik even more weatherproof in a volatile market environment through resilient financial management.”

Puma Appoints Mark Langer as New CFO to Drive Growth

Puma SE has confirmed that Mark Langer has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Management Board, effective May 1, 2026. 

Mark, 57, succeeds Markus Neubrand, who is stepping down from the role following a phase of financial restructuring for the German sportswear manufacturer.

As new CFO, Mark’s remit includes oversight of finance, tax, legal, investor relations, and internal audit. 

His arrival marks a shift in Puma’s leadership focus, moving from the stabilisation efforts of the previous year toward a more aggressive pursuit of profitable, long-term growth.

“I very much look forward to working with Mark, as he combines deep financial and capital market expertise with proven leadership across renowned consumer brands,” said Arthur Hoeld, CEO of Puma. 

“His track record of delivering results will be key in achieving our goal to return to profitable growth.”

Finance Leaders Face AI Governance Gap as Adoption Surges

A survey of more than 400 finance sector organisations has found that governance structures are not keeping pace with the deployment of agentic AI.

TrendAI, a business unit of Trend Micro, surveyed 407 finance, insurance and accounting organisations globally. The findings suggest finance chiefs are approving AI systems that can act autonomously in areas such as fraud detection and compliance, but lack visibility into how those systems operate.

Nearly one in three organisations cannot track or verify the actions taken by autonomous systems. The research found that 31% of financial services firms have no observability or auditability over AI agents.

The research also found that competitive dynamics are influencing approval decisions. According to the survey, 68% of organisations have been pressured to approve AI deployments in the past year despite security concerns, with 15% describing those concerns as extreme but overridden.

Porsche Divests Bugatti Rimac Stakes in Portfolio Refocus

Porsche has agreed to divest its equity holdings in hypercar manufacturer Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group to a consortium led by New York investment firm HOF Capital, marking a strategic refocusing of the German automaker's portfolio towards core operations.

The transaction will see Porsche exit its 45% minority stake in Bugatti Rimac, a joint venture established in 2021, along with its 20.6% holding in Rimac Group. 

The deal represents a significant shift in Porsche's capital allocation strategy as the company streamlines its investment portfolio.

The divestiture concludes a chapter that began in 2018 when Porsche initially backed Croatian startup Rimac, recognising its high-performance battery technology as strategically valuable. 

Over three years, Porsche incrementally increased its stake to 24%, establishing the corporate relationships necessary to facilitate "Operation Rush" – the internal designation for the complex 2021 transaction that enabled Volkswagen Group to transfer Bugatti into a joint venture structure.

Porsche's then CEO Oliver Blume and CFO Lutz Meschcke led the deal making that convinced Volkswagen Group to contribute its wholly-owned Bugatti subsidiary to the Croatian firm, with Porsche subsequently retaining a 45% stake in the newly formed entity.

PepsiCo's CEO Announces Financial Growth for Q1 2026

PepsiCo's strategic pivot on pricing has delivered results that could signal a turning point for the food and beverage giant.

The company's first quarter 2026 earnings revealed a notable recovery in its North American food business, demonstrating how targeted price reductions and product innovation can reverse declining sales volumes.

The company reported earnings per share of US$1.61 against Wall Street's expected US$1.55, while revenue reached US$19.44bn compared to analyst predictions of US$18.94bn.

These figures could indicate the effectiveness of PepsiCo's recent strategic shift away from aggressive price increases that had characterised its post-pandemic approach.

In a press release on PepsiCo's first quarter earnings for 2026, Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said: "We are pleased with our first-quarter results, which featured an acceleration in both net revenue and organic revenue growth – with a notable improvement in convenient foods organic volume.

"An extensive commercial agenda, which includes the restaging of large global brands, innovation activity and certain affordability initiatives, is being executed well and business performance improved."