At its meeting, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn (DB) appointed Evelyn Palla as the new Chair of the Management Board and CEO, effective 1 October 2025. The current CEO, Richard Lutz, will leave the company by mutual agreement on 30 September 2025.
Speaking in Berlin, Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said: "With her outstanding operational and strategic skills, Evelyn Palla has proven her ability to successfully complete transformation projects in her time at leading European corporations, most recently at Deutsche Bahn, where she has worked since 2019. She has steered the DB Regio business unit from stormy weather to calm waters, working alongside the many people involved — not least the employees who serve millions of customers every day. We are confident that DB can make a successful new start with Evelyn Palla at the helm and implement the Federal Ministry of Transport's agenda for rail customer satisfaction promptly."
Werner Gatzer also thanked Richard Lutz for his many years of service to DB, saying: "Richard Lutz has made a definitive impact on the Group's development over a period of more than 30 years, first as a controller and CFO, and since 2017 as Chairman of the Management Board and CEO. The Strong Rail strategy he implemented played a crucial role in facilitating the turnaround in Germany's transport policy, guiding everyone at DB through times of extreme operational challenges. Furthermore, by overseeing the launch of the S3 turnaround programme last year, he initiated the restructuring of the Group in terms of infrastructure, operations, and profitability, achieving tangible successes early on. On behalf of the entire Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Richard Lutz for his service to DB."
On 14 August 2025, Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder, Supervisory Board Chairman Werner Gatzer, and Management Board Chairman and CEO Richard Lutz reached an amicable agreement to terminate the latter's contract prematurely. It was agreed that Richard Lutz would remain in his position until a successor was found.
Evelyn Palla, born in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy in 1973, began her career at Infineon Technologies in 1997. In 2003, she joined E.ON, working in Munich, Cologne and Milan. In 2011, she moved to ÖBB in Vienna. In 2015, she became a Member of the Board for Regional Transport at ÖBB Personenverkehr. From that point onwards, she also held the position of Chair of the Supervisory Board of ÖBB Postbus. In February 2019, Palla started at Deutsche Bahn as the CFO of DB Fernverkehr. In July 2022, she was appointed to the Board of Deutsche Bahn as Member for Regional Transport.
