Head of Europe’s Largest Baking Group Steps Down

Heiner Kamps, founder and president of the board of Kamps AG, Europe’s largest baking group, is stepping down from the company’s day-to-day activities after the company was taken over by the Italian pasta maker Barilla. In a statement on Monday, the company announced that Kamps will resign from his post as board president on January 1st and will limit his activities to strategic advising. Kamps AG suffered heavy operating losses in the first nine months of 2002 due to additional capital allowances and the effects of the Barilla takeover. “My entrepreneurial spirit doesn’t allow me to function in the role of board president of a subsidiary of the Barilla Group,” Kamps said in explaining his decision to step down. In July, the Italian pasta manufacturer Barilla became the majority shareholder of Düsseldorf-based company.