Brother of missing German billionaire takes reins at retailer

The younger brother of German billionaire Karl-Erivan Haub, presumed dead after going missing on a ski trip, will take over the sole leadership of the family’s Tengelmann retail group, the company said Wednesday.

Christian Haub and his brother, who belong to one of Germany’s wealthiest families, had been co-CEOs since 2000.

The 150-year-old group owns a number of chains, including the Kik low-cost clothing stores and OBI home improvement outlets.

Karl-Erivan Haub vanished during a ski outing in the Swiss Alps on April 7, and family members said last week they had given up hope of finding the 58-year-old alive despite a huge multi-national search effort.

“The loss of our brother is a tragedy for our family. But it does not endanger the continued existence of our family business,” 53-year-old Christian Haub said in a statement.

“Our common goal was always to pass on a strong company to the next generation. I plan to stick to that goal and will do my utmost to achieve it.”

According to Swiss media, Karl-Erivan was last seen taking the ski lift at the Klein Matterhorn on April 7 at around 8:30 am (0630 GMT), and setting off at an altitude of 3,800 metres (12,470 feet) on the glacier-covered mountain — the highest in Europe reachable by cable car.

He was training for the Patrouille des Glaciers, a gruelling race across the Alps organised every two years by the Swiss army.

He had participated twice in the competition that combines skiing and climbing.

But rescuers believe he had an accident during his solo practice run.

Haub’s disappearance came just a month after the death of his father Erivan Karl Matthias Haub, 85, who ran the company from 1969 to 2000.

The Tengelmann Group employs around 80,000 people worldwide. It said its revenues for the financial year of 2016 reached 9.0 billion euros ($11 billion).

Its success has lifted the family into 265th place on Forbes magazine’s global rich list, and 20th place in Germany.