Bielefeld, September 18, 2025
Representative Assembly Elects Johan G.M. Vlassak to the Supervisory Board / Dr. Marc Zgaga Appointed New Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board
On September 16, 2025, the member representatives of EK Retail reconvened following the annual Assembly Meeting held in April in Amersfoort, the Netherlands – this time at the company’s German headquarters in Bielefeld. In addition to other agenda items, elections to the Supervisory Board were held. Following the statutory departure of Peter Dirks, the Representative Assembly elected Johan Vlassak to the Supervisory Board of the multi-sector cooperative, representing the interests of over 3,800 international retail partners. In the subsequent constitutive meeting, the newly formed Supervisory Board elected Dr. Marc Zgaga as Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Peter Dirks, a distinguished Dutch expert in retail and finance and former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Euretco (EK Netherlands), stepped down after three years in office, most recently serving as Deputy Chairman, in accordance with the company’s statutes. The Supervisory Board, Executive Board, and Representative Assembly expressed their sincere gratitude for his dedicated service, particularly in light of the successful internationalization of EK Retail, and wished him all the best for the future.
Johan Vlassak applied to fill the vacant seat and introduced himself to the EK representatives at the Assembly in Bielefeld. The Eindhoven native looks back on a successful career in finance and has held various leadership positions in corporate banking, such as at the Dutch major bank ABN AMRO and the cooperatively organized Rabobank.
One of the key areas of expertise of the retail and finance specialist, who holds a Master of Business Valuation (MBV), is the assessment of financial corporate value, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions. Most recently, Vlassak served as Director and Partner at Crowe Foederer Corporate Finance BV, one of the leading Dutch firms for auditing and consultancy.
In the subsequent vote, the Representative Assembly elected him to the Supervisory Board. “Johan Vlassak is a highly experienced professional in the broad field of financial analysis and strategic decision-making. In addition to his solid expertise in retail, he brings a valuable external perspective to our corporate group – one that opens new horizons and will undoubtedly make us even stronger. We look forward to a successful collaboration with him,” said EK CEO Martin Richrath.
Strategic Realignment on the Supervisory Board: Deputy Chair Appointed, Chair Confirmed
Following the representatives’ assembly, the Supervisory Board held its constitutive meeting and elected Dr. Marc Zgaga – a Doctor of Law, member of the Supervisory Board since April 2025, Managing Director of DER MITTELSTANDSVERBUND-ZGV e.V., and CEO at ServiCon Service & Consult eG – as its new Deputy Chairman.
Johannes Lenzschau was confirmed in his role as Chairman of the Supervisory Board by his fellow board members.
The composition of the Supervisory Board is as follows:
Johannes Lenzschau (Chairman), Wildeshausen (DE)
Dr. Marc Zgaga (Deputy Chairman), Cologne (DE)
Johan Vlassak, Budel (NL)
Wolfgang Neuhoff, Dortmund (DE)
Paul Berden, Venlo-Blerick (NL)
Nico Vanderveen, Assen (NL)
