Michael Otto (businessman)

Michael Otto, born in 1943, is the honorary chairman of the supervisory board of Germany's Otto Group, one of the world's largest mail order companies. He is the son of Werner Otto, who founded the family mail-order business in Hamburg in 1949. After a banking apprenticeship he studied economics in Hamburg and Munich and earned a doctorate, joined the executive board in 1971 responsible for textile purchasing, and became chairman of the executive board in February 1981, serving until October 2007 and then chairing the supervisory board until March 2025. Under him the group grew from a catalogue mail-order firm into a digital retail group, made environmental protection a corporate objective in 1986 and acquired firms such as Limango, Manufactum and SportScheck. He also founded environmental and development foundations. His handling of working conditions at the Hermes parcel subsidiary drew criticism in 2011.