Family business: generational change at the top of the Brenninkmeijer family

Dusseldorf. Florian Brenninkmeyer becomes the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cofra Holding AG. As the Handelsblatt learned in advance, the 40-year-old replaces Martijn Brenninkmeijer, who led the group for twelve years - initially as CEO and since 2018 as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The change is scheduled to take place in April 2027.

Cofra Holding AG, based in Zug, Switzerland, is the parent company of the Brenninkmeijer family of entrepreneurs. The family became known by founding the fashion chain C&A in 1841, named after the founders Clemens and August.

Of around 2,000 family members, only 50 to 60 belong to the circle of owners. They form the so-called “Sneeker Kring”, named after the Dutch town of Sneek. There are still different spellings of the name in the extensive family today.

Cofra has been expanding its business from purely family assets to an asset manager for years. The idea is to manage and increase not only the assets of the Brenninkmeijer family, but also those of other family offices, foundations and large investors. According to company circles, this course will accelerate under the new leadership.

Under the umbrella of the Cofra holding company, the entrepreneurial family is active as an investor far beyond C&A. Cofra has three investment divisions that are expected to grow particularly.

The Dutchman Boudewijn Beerkens has been running Cofra Holding operationally since 2019. In the future, he will report to his current CFO Florian Brenninkmeyer. Those familiar with the corporate family say such changes in reporting requirements are part of everyday life for family members and management. Beerkens had already emphasized two years ago that he wanted to double the assets under management from around 35 to 70 billion euros by 2034 - and to do so in a value-oriented and climate-friendly manner.

Florian Brenninkmeyer will leave the position of CFO by the end of the year in order to familiarize himself with the new position before the final change in April. Previously, he led the group's finance team and had already familiarized himself with the various business areas: more than three years at the real estate arm Redevco and more than four years at C&A, where he also started his professional career as a trainee. Immediately after his trainee training, he worked outside the group at Rabobank for two years as an analyst for mergers, acquisitions and sales.

According to information from the Handelsblatt, Martijn Brenninkmeijer will leave the board of directors in April 2027, but will remain part of the Cofra owner family and, according to company circles, will continue to closely support the development of the family business. He is 56 years old.

Cofra experts expect that the change at the top will result in “a significantly greater focus on the management of the three investment businesses”. The goal: to collect even more money from other investors and foundations.

When asked by the Handelsblatt what role the fashion chain C&A - with 1,300 branches in Europe and around 25,000 employees is the visible legacy of the family - plays in Cofra's future strategy, it says: "C&A remains an important part of Cofra's portfolio." They have “complete confidence in the supervisory board of C&A Europe and in the management strategy”.