Obi abolishes COO position, Brigitte Wittekind to leave

German DIY store group Obi is reducing the size of its executive board and abolishing the position of Chief Operations Officer. Brigitte Wittekind, who has held this position since August 2023, will leave the company on 1 October 2025. According to a press release, she was responsible for cross-functional central transformation projects such as the introduction and scaling of the digital platform, the establishment of the lean division and comprehensive optimisation of the supply chain. In order to reduce interfaces and complexity, her COO responsibilities will be more closely integrated into other corporate functions in the future. The supervisory board, CEO Dr Sebastian Gundel and Brigitte Wittekind have therefore decided not to extend Wittekind's board mandate, according to the company. The position of Chief Operations Officer will not be filled.