Michael Otto (businessman)
{{Short description|German businessman (born 1943)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{expand German|date=March 2023|topic=bio}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Michael Otto
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|12 April 1943}}
| birth_place = Chełmno (Kulm), Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia
| nationality = German
| education = {{Ubl | University of Hamburg | University of Munich }}
| occupation = Head of Otto Group
| children = 2
| parents = Werner Otto (father)
| relatives = Katharina Otto-Bernstein (sister)
Frank Otto (brother)
Alexander Otto (brother)
}}
Michael Otto (born 12 April 1943), is the chairman of the supervisory board of Germany's Otto Group,{{Cite web|title=Otto Group: Supervisory Board|url=https://www.ottogroup.com/en/about-us/management/Supervisory-Board.php|access-date=2021-07-12|website=www.ottogroup.com|language=en}} one of world's largest mail order companies, with €15.6 billion in revenue in 2021.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Otto Group makes progress in latest year, expects fashion segment recovery |url=https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Otto-group-makes-progress-in-latest-year-expects-fashion-segment-recovery,1303591.html |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=Fashion Network |language=en-WW}}
Early life
Career
Otto Group was founded by his father, the late Werner Otto, as a mail-order business in Hamburg in 1949.
They were the former owners of Spiegel, Inc. (the parent company of Eddie Bauer and former owners of Spiegel catalog), which filed for bankruptcy on 17 March 2003. On 25 May 2005, Spiegel, Inc. emerged from bankruptcy, was renamed Eddie Bauer Holdings, and is now owned primarily by Commerzbank. The Otto Group no longer has any stake in the company.
Otto and his family own extensive real estate in Canada and in the United States,{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}} shopping centers in Germany and part of home-furnishings chain Crate & Barrel. Known as a committed environmentalist, his company has long touted environmentally safe products. In 1993, he created the Michael Otto Foundation (German: Michael Otto Stiftung). This foundation played, and is still playing, an important role in furthering multi-stakeholder dialogue on hot environmental issues. Otto is also a member of the World Future Council.
Otto is president of the Foundation 2°, which promotes a transition towards a carbon-free economic system.{{Cite web |title=Business Statement for crisis management and a sustainable future |url=https://www.stiftung2grad.de/en/business-statement-climate-stimulus-programme |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517101136/https://www.stiftung2grad.de/en/business-statement-climate-stimulus-programme |archive-date=2020-05-17 |access-date=2020-08-28 |website=Stiftung 2 Grad |language=en-US}} He once stated about this transition: "Understanding climate protection as a modernisation project for the economy can now play an important role in overcoming the consequences of the Corona crisis – and at the same time help to avoid profound negative impacts of the climate crisis."
Personal life
Otto is married, with two children, and lives in Hamburg, Germany.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070217004112/http://www.michaelottostiftung.de/index.php?de-home Michael Otto Foundation]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Michael}}
Category:20th-century German businesspeople
Category:21st-century German businesspeople
Category:German businesspeople in retailing
Category:German environmentalists
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Category:People from West Prussia