Report of the Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board of ALTANA AG, carrying out the functions stipulated by law and the
Articles of Association, closely followed the work of the Management Board and monitored
its management activities in the 2020 fiscal year. The Supervisory Board dealt in depth
with the situation and development of the company as well as with various current issues. The
Supervisory Board was regularly informed by the Management Board about the respective
agenda items through presentations and oral reports in meetings, which were held in 2020
without exception via video conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Supervisory
Board also regularly received additional written reports. Between Supervisory Board meetings,
the Chairman of the Management Board informed the Chairman of the Supervisory Board
about significant developments and events, and discussed pending or planned decisions with
him. The Supervisory Board was involved in all major company decisions.
Meetings of the Supervisory Board
In the 2020 fiscal year, the Supervisory Board held four regular meetings and two consti-
tutive meetings. At the regular meetings, the economic situation and the development perspectives
of the ALTANA Group, as well as important business events, including acquisi-
tions, were discussed and deliberated on in detail. In addition to regular reporting on ALTANA’s
sales, earnings, and financial development, the Supervisory Board dealt in depth with the
strategy of ALTANA and its individual divisions. In each of the four regular Supervisory Board
meetings, the Management Board reported to the Supervisory Board in detail about the
effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the company and the measures the management had
taken with the help of crisis teams expressly set up for this purpose to protect the health
of employees and to minimize the pandemic’s negative effects on business. Furthermore, the
Supervisory Board intensively discussed the situation, development, and plans of the BYK
and ECKART divisions, after focusing on ELANTAS and ACTEGA the year before. The Supervisory
Board received regular updates on the company’s participation in the Israeli Landa
Corporation Ltd. (“Landa Digital Printing”) and devoted one of its 2020 meetings to this investment
in detail. In addition, the Supervisory Board dealt intensively in 2020 with innovation
management at BYK and ECKART and the digital transformation of the Group. The Supervisory
Board conducted the biennial Supervisory Board self-assessment (formerly: efficiency
review) in the fall of the year. Furthermore, the Supervisory Board again adopted targets for
the proportion of women on the Supervisory Board and the Management Board. At its
December meeting, the Supervisory Board dealt in depth with and approved the corporate
planning for the next three years and the budget for 2021. At the Supervisory Board’s
14 Report of the Supervisory Board