The appointment of Evelyn Palla by the Federal Minister of Transport almost failed due to the EVG. Although the railway union had no objections to Palla, it did not agree with another personnel decision made by the minister.

A major reshuffle has begun at the top of Deutsche Bahn. There will be some new faces at the parent company and at DB InfraGo in future. Since Tuesday lunchtime, it has been confirmed that Evelyn Palla, previously a member of the DB Regio Executive Board, will become the new head of Deutsche Bahn. This was decided by the Supervisory Board of the DB Group. In addition, the number of Executive Board members is to be reduced from eight to six. Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder announced the most important personnel changes on Monday when he presented his “Agenda for satisfied rail customers – key points for reforming Deutsche Bahn” in Berlin.

According to Palla, Daniela Gerd tom Markotten, responsible for digitalisation and technology, and infrastructure director Berthold Huber are leaving the DB Group. According to Schnieder, DB InfraGo is to be given a stronger position.

“Evelyn Palla has everything it takes to put the company back on track for success,” Schnieder praised on Monday. She knows DB from the inside, and regional transport is back in the black. In addition, the South Tyrol native and former member of the Austrian Federal Railways’ long-distance passenger transport executive board brings experience from outside the company.

Someone who has worked with her for a long time describes Palla to DVZ as ambitious and career-minded. She is good at financial matters and can set up processes cleanly and manage them in a modern way. The question, however, is whether she will succeed in making her own mark in the public eye. She often comes across as smooth and conciliatory, but may also have to assert herself against the DB supervisory board led by Werner Gatzer (SPD) and the strong co-determination within the group.

It is questionable whether the railway agenda presented by Schnieder and the three immediate programmes are the end of the line. According to DVZ information, a kind of detailed strategy for the future of DB is to follow in early 2026.

On other personnel matters, Palla said that DB Cargo boss Sigrid Nikutta would remain in her position. The position of finance director at DB is still open. Levin Holle, who was finance director from 2020 to 2025, moved to the Federal Chancellery at the beginning of the new legislative period.

DB InfraGo board change

Meanwhile, the dismissal of DB InfraGo board member Philipp Nagl came as a surprise to the industry. His position is to be taken over by consultant Dirk Rompf, board member of the Institute for Organisational Communication Ifok. Rompf does have some experience with the railway group; from 2014 to 2019, he was a board member of the infrastructure subsidiary DB Netz, and before that, he spent two years as senior vice president at DB, responsible for strategy and business development in the infrastructure division.

However, as DVZ has learned, Rompf is considered complicated and academic. Green Party rail expert Matthias Gastel accuses him of being “jointly responsible for the poor state of the infrastructure and the sluggish processes involved in large-scale projects”. In addition, former infrastructure director Ronald Pofalla did little to maintain the network and there was a lack of funding. Schnieder defended her candidate: “Rompf stands for experience and a new beginning.” The DB InfraGo supervisory board will decide on the appointment in a few weeks.

“I still have confidence in Philipp Nagl,” said Palla. He will remain with the company and take on a position of responsibility. She did not say what this would be.

Supervisory boards must approve

The EVG railway union has agreed to Palla, but it could be more difficult with Rompf. A two-thirds majority is required here. Like many other stakeholders, it was not involved in the process of developing the agenda and selecting personnel.

The supervisory boards are just as important as the management. The agenda states that the competencies of the committees should be “ensured in a more targeted manner” in the future. These include accounting, construction, punctuality/rail operations, IT/AI and passenger transport. According to the agenda, the federal government also wants to create “room for further external expertise”. As before, the Bundestag is to appoint three members to each supervisory board. The BMV is planning a change to the group supervisory board and wants to replace two supervisory board positions, which have previously been filled by DB’s parent company, with two additional shareholder representatives. Schnieder spoke of more economic expertise, which he would like to see on the supervisory board.