Lufthansa eyes former Deutsche Telekom CEO for top job - reports
FRANKFURT, Jan 28 (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa has contacted the former chief executive of Deutsche Telekom in its hunt for a new chief executive, German media reported on Tuesday.
Rene Obermann, former CEO of Deutsche Telekom, had taken up the top job at Dutch cable operator Ziggo only this month, but has found himself back on the job market after the operator on Monday agreed a takeover offer from U.S. firm Liberty Global.
Lufthansa chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber is interested in Obermann and the supervisory board has been in contact with the manager, Handelsblatt and Rheinische Post newspapers reported on Tuesday, citing company sources.
Germany's largest airline has been looking for a new CEO since September, when it was announced that Christoph Franz would leave at the end of May 2014 to become chairman at Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche.
Carsten Spohr, head of Lufthansa's passenger business, is seen as the most likely candidate for the CEO job and analysts have said he would be best placed to continue the group's current cost-cutting programme.
A spokesman for Lufthansa said on Tuesday the group would not comment on speculation, adding the supervisory board would evaluate any external or internal candidate that matched the job profile.
