Supervisory Board

All of the members elected to the Supervisory Board by the Annual General Meeting have confirmed that they consider themselves to be independent based on the criteria defined by the Supervisory Board (Corporate Governance Code, Rule 53). The criteria for independence defined by the Supervisory Board may be viewed on the website www.voestalpine.com and correspond largely to Appendix 1 of the Corporate Governance Code. Furthermore, with the exception of Dr. Heinrich Schaller, who represents the shareholder Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich Invest GmbH & Co OG, and Dr. Peischer, who represents the voestalpine Mitarbeiterbeteiligung Privatstiftung, none of the members elected to the Supervisory Board by the Annual General Meeting are shareholders with an investment of more than 10% or represent the interests of such shareholders (Rule 54).

The Articles of Incorporation authorize the Supervisory Board to appoint committees from among its ranks and to define their rights and responsibilities. The committees can also be given the right to make decisions. Pursuant to Sec. 110 (1) of the Labor Constitution Act (Arbeitsverfassungsgesetz, ArbVG), the employee representatives on the Supervisory Board have the right to nominate members with a seat and a vote for Supervisory Board committees. This does not apply to committees that handle relations between the Company and the members of the Management Board.

The following Supervisory Board committees have been established:

General Committee

The General Committee is both the Nomination and Compensation Committee as defined by the Corporate Governance Code.

As the Nomination Committee, the General Committee submits recommendations to the Supervisory Board regarding filling Management Board positions that become vacant and handles issues regarding succession planning. As the Compensation Committee, the General Committee is also responsible for executing, amending, and dissolving employment agreements with members of the Management Board as well as for all matters associated with the management of

Management Board members’ stock option plans. Furthermore, the General Committee has the right to make decisions in urgent cases. It also makes decisions regarding whether members of the Management Board are permitted to take on ancillary activities.

Members of the General Committee of the Supervisory Board:

• Dr. Joachim Lemppenau (Chairman)
• Dr. Heinrich Schaller (Deputy Chairman)
• Hans-Karl Schaller

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is responsible for monitoring the financial reporting process, the work undertaken by the auditor, reviewing and preparing approval of the annual financial statements, the recommendation for the appropriation of earnings, and the Management Report. It is also this committee’s responsibility to review the Group’s Consolidated Financial Statements and to submit a recommendation for the selection of an auditor and to report to the Supervisory Board in this matter. Furthermore, the Audit Committee is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the company-wide internal control system, the internal audit system, and the risk management system.

Members of the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board:

• Dr. Joachim Lemppenau (Chairman)
• Dr. Heinrich Schaller (Deputy Chairman)
• KR Dr. Franz Gasselsberger, MBA
• Dr. Josef Krenner (Financial expert)
• Hans-Karl Schaller
• Josef Gritz

During the business year 2012/13, the Supervisory Board fulfilled its responsibilities under the law and the Articles of Incorporation, holding seven plenary sessions, three meetings of the Audit Committee, and four meetings of the General Committee. In addition to ongoing reports on the Group’s current economic and financial situation, these meetings dealt in particular with issues surrounding the Group’s strategic development, matters dealing with antitrust law, measures involving risk management and securing the Group’s liquidity as well as the extension of the terms of office of the members of the Management Board. The Audit Committee dealt with the review and preparation of the approval of the Company’s consolidated financial statements and the individual financial statements, preparation of the recommendation for the appointment of an auditor as well as topics relative to the internal control system, the risk management system, and Internal Auditing. The General Committee focused on questions regarding the Group’s strategy as well as matters dealing with antitrust law; furthermore, in its function as Compensation Committee, it dealt with questions concerning the compensation of the members of the Management Board. In its function as the Nomination Committee, focal points of its activity were the preparation of the recommendation for the appointment of the successor of Dr. Scharinger, Dr. Heinrich Schaller, as member of the Supervisory Board of voestalpine AG and the extension of the terms of office of the members of the Management Board.

In the last meeting of the business year, the Supervisory Board carried out the self-evaluation stipulated under Rule 36 of the Corporate Governance Code and, utilizing a list of questions, dealt with the general cooperation between Management Board and Supervisory Board, quality and scope of the documents made available to the Supervisory Board as well as organizational questions.