Organisation

With effect from 1 August 1996, the ‘transport’ division of the public utility company Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main GmbH was transferred to Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main mbH. VGF has since come under the umbrella of the Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main Group GmbH and is now one of the ten largest local transport operators in Germany. VGF accounts for more than 40% of RMV’s turnover.

You’ll find more information about VGF in our business report, our sustainability report and our facts and figures.

Kerstin Jerchel

Married with two children
Labour Director and Managing Director of VGF since 01 May 2023

Professional career:

• Head of co-determination at ver.di Bundesverwaltung (2017 - 2023).
• Desk officer and deputy head of the legal and legal policy department (2002 - 2017). 

Prior to that, she provided strategic and legal advice to members and functionaries in the district administration of the Frankfurt Public Service, Transport and Traffic Union (ÖTV, from 2000 ver.di) (1999 - 2002).

Thomas Raasch

Married with two children
VGF’s chief financial officer since 1 October 2013

Professional career:

• WIBERA Wirtschaftsberatung AG (1994 to 1998)
• Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main GmbH and Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main Holding GmbH (1998 to date)

He has worked for VGF’s parent company, Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main Holding GmbH, since May 1998, and became managin director in April 2023.

Michael Rüffer

Married with two children
Technical Managing Director of VGF since 3 May 2017

Professionell career:

• Development of local transit vehicles at Siemens AG in Erlangen (1996-2000)
• VGF City Rail Workshop Manager (2000–2009)
• VGF Rail Division Manager (2009-2017)

Mr Rüffer is also a lecturer at Hochschule Darmstadt and a member of the rail vehicle committee of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV).

The supervisory board is an executive body in which half of the members are representatives of the shareholders (members of the municipal authority and the city council) and the other half are representatives of employees. The shareholder representatives are assigned to the supervisory board by the municipal authority. The employee representatives are elected by VGF employees, and include representatives from trade unions, VGF staff and a representative from VGF’s management team. The supervisory board is essentially responsible for monitoring and supervision. Its primary duties include monitoring the board of directors to ensure that they are adhering to the law, performing reliably and effectively, behaving in a proper manner, and running the business profitably. The supervisory board also approves the audited annual accounts and approves the VGF business plan. It usually meets once every three months. Meetings are attended not only by members of the supervisory board but also by directors, expert witnesses, consultants (such as auditors), representatives of the shareholders and the City of Frankfurt’s auditing authority.

The VGF supervisory board currently comprises the following members:  

• Wolfgang Siefert, city councillor, chairman
• Dr. Bastian Bergerhoff, city treasure
• Ursula Busch, municipal councillor   
• Martin Huber, municipal councillor
• Julia Eberz, municipal councillor
• Dr. Katharina Knacker, municipal councillor
• Kristina Luxen, municipal councillor
• Nathaniel Ritter, municipal councillor
• Hüseyin Sitki, municipal councillor
• Simon Witch, municipal councillor
• Thomas Heimbürger, deputy chairman
• Tülay Cesur, employee representative
• Eric Herrmann, employee representative
• Eckehard Kalweit, employee representative
• Jochen Koppel, ver.di trade union secretary
• Michael Kraus, management representative
• Olaf Schüssler, employee representative
• Richard Senf, employee representative
• Tugce Yildirim, employee representative
• Pia Tegeler, employee representative