Management Changes at Hess AG

> Previous Executive Directors removed and Dr. Till Becker appointed as Executive Director
> Suspicions regarding breaches of accounting regulations to be comprehensively investigated in a prompt special audit

Effective immediately, the Supervisory Board of Hess AG has removed the Executive Directors of the Company, Mr. Christoph Hess, CEO and Mr. Peter Ziegler, CFO. This decision was adopted unanimously at today’s extraordinary meeting of the Supervisory Board. Internal audits of Hess AG had resulted in suspicions of breaches of accounting regulations with knowledge of the Executive Directors. These could have possibly led to an overstatement of the Company’s financial position, net assets, and results of operations in years 2011 and 2012.
 
The Supervisory Board called for a prompt economic and legal special audit to be conducted by independent external auditors and lawyers. The purpose of this special audit is to determine the exact extent of possible damages for the Company and to determine possible existing claims.
 
At the same time, the Supervisory Board appointed Dr. Till Becker, 55, as new Executive Director, effective immediately. Mr. Becker will promptly assume his position in Villingen-Schwenningen. Mr. Becker, who holds a doctorate in law, was a consultant and interim manager at several companies in the automobile, consumer goods, and energy industries over the last few years and has held numerous supervisory board mandates. Prior to this, he was a manager at DaimlerChrysler AG for more than 20 years, with his last position being that of Group Executive Manager for the Northeast Asia region. He has lengthy and international management experience. Tim van Delden, Chairman of the Supervisory Board stated: “With Mr. Dr. Becker, we have been able to attract an outstanding and experienced manager with an international profile. We are confident that Mr. Dr. Becker, with his experience and resolute manner, will be successful, together with the Supervisory Board, in expediting a clarification and with that return the company to smoother waters”.