Dieter Schoen has stepped down as chair of the management board of German hospital group Schoen Clinic, after 30 years.

He will now focus on chairing the administrative board, while current co-chief executive and chief financial officer Dr Markus Hamm (pictured) moves up to become chief executive.

Jens Egert will take over the position of chief financial officer from 1 April, bringing experience as a business economist within the health sector, including most recently as managing director at a medical logistics specialist.

Meanwhile Schoen’s son Christopher, who joined the company in 2016, remains on the management board to represent the family.

Dieter Schoen commented: “It had always been clear to me that at 60, it is good no longer to be responsible for the day-to-day operations of a company. I have been working in partnership with Dr Hamm for 15 years. He has my trust, and that of the shareholders.”

Hamm said: “Medical quality for our patients is at the heart of everything we do in this company. Thanks to our economic success, we are able to make above-average investments in state-of-the-art infrastructure – in new operating theatres, modern medical technology and healing-promoting architecture, far more so than the rest of the industry.”