Co-founder and CEO Oliver Merkel is losing his job at the express delivery service Flink. His expiring contract will not be renewed by the supervisory board. The decision was preceded by an internal power struggle in which Merkel increasingly lost support in the management team. The main points of criticism against him were his strict austerity policy, which he did not always live up to himself, and his dominant and contentious leadership style.
His successor will be co-founder Julian Dames, who is considered more open to a possible takeover by main investor Rewe. Merkel was "completely shocked" by his dismissal and indirectly blamed Rewe for his dismissal.
Source: Jonas Rest, Manager Magazin (2025, February 22). Coup against the CEO of the delivery service Flink
Oliver Merkel vs Julian Dames by Flink in comparison
We took a closer look at the two executives Oliver Merkel and Julian Dames based on seven core characteristics. The differences between the two co-founders are not very pronounced. Even though they both have fundamentally similar personality patterns, there are still nuances in the actual characteristics.
In the AI analysis, Oliver Merkel is assessed as risk-tolerant, optimistic, fast-paced, expressive, collaborative, and dominant. Is this enough reason to let him go?
Why Flink CEO Oliver Merkel has to go
Business Insider (BI) , which manager magazin cites as its primary source, writes about the potential for internal conflict in the management team: " Among other things, the 48-year-old is said to have pushed for massive cost-cutting measures, but not lived very frugally himself. Merkel is seen as a dominant and highly contentious personality in the team. " According to BI, Oliver Merkel blames the investor REWE. When taking over companies, investors often prefer "more approachable" managers who are more open to integration into new structures. In comparing the personality patterns above, Julian Dames is possibly the more approachable board member.
methodology
We used the service CrystalKnows to analyse personality patterns. We compare the measurements of individuals to calculate team constellations. Personality patterns are not deterministic. We change.
We use the methodology as part of the due diligence review of companies or startups.