German rail giant Deutsche Bahn on Wednesday named finance director Richard Lutz as its new chief executive, replacing a boss who quit unexpectedly after contract talks broke down. A Bahn man since 1994, Lutz is little known to the public but deeply familiar with the workings of the publicly-owned rail operator - a political and business institution in Germany with its 300,000 employees.
The 52-year-old new chief will remain in charge of finances after taking his seat at the head of the executive board.
Federal government ministers in Berlin last week confirmed that Lutz would take over permanently after filling in since the spectacular resignation of Ruediger Grube from the driver's seat at Deutsche Bahn.
The boss walked away after supervisory board members refused to extend his contract beyond 2019, which would have seen him outlast a decade in the role.
Deutsche Bahn is expected to unveil annual results for 2016 Thursday showing it returned to profit, after making a deep loss - its first in 12 years - the year before.
As it grinds through a programme to improve service quality, the rail firm remains the butt of frustrated but fond jokes about its punctuality among the German public.
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