Logistics Mourns
Klaus-Michael Kuehne's Passing

     Klaus-Michael Kühne, the logistics pioneer and majority shareholder of the freight multinational Kuehne+Nagel, passed away in Schindellegi, Switzerland on August 24th 2026, at the age of 89.
     In a brief obituary Kuehne+Nagel website noted some executive comments in the announcement, “With the passing of Klaus-Michael, we have lost a visionary, a great entrepreneur and an extraordinary personality. Our thoughts are with his widow Christine Kühne.”
     Klaus-Michael Kühne was born in Hamburg in 1937, the grandson of August Kühne, who co-founded the freight forwarding firm Kuehne+Nagel with Friedrich Nagel in Bremen in 1890; the son of Alfred Kühne, Klaus Michael formally joined the family company in 1958, (after an apprenticeship in banking, starting an incredible seven-decade journey.
     In 1966, Kühne stepped up as chairman of the management board for the German operations. In 1975 he took the helm as CEO of Kuehne+Nagel International, eventually moving the company's headquarters to Switzerland.      Thus, the traditional regional forwarder evolved into a global powerhouse. He anticipated the importance of air freight and container shipping for international supply chains long before globalization kicked in. Kühne then served as the Chairman of the Board until 2011, then becoming honorary chairman.
     By then Kuehne+Nagel had become one of the largest logistics and forwarding enterprises in the world, and from that position came acquisitions that completed a constellation of logistics and trade enterprises: Hapag-Lloyd, within a party of local investors, KMK participated in rescuing and securing the container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd to the Hamburg landscape and is Hapag Lloyd’s largest shareholder with a 30% stake; In 2022, he acquired a 17.5% stake in Lufthansa, the German airline carrier, and became its largest single investor. With this, KMK built a major stake in the Lufthansa Group, which includes, Austrian Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, and ITA Airways.
     He also is a stakeholder in other transportation and trade sectors, including Brenntag and Flix.
     The Kuehne+Nagel group today is one of the world’s leading logistics providers with 88,000 employees across over 1,300 offices in 100 countries.
     The Kühne Foundation, which he created, poured generous resources into education, healthcare research and logistics learning. His fortune and corporate holdings are to be “managed by his charitable foundations, preserving his life's work for public and educational good.”
     One of our friends and logistics pioneer, Issa Baluch, published the following statement today: “Today, we remember Klaus-Michael Kühne.  With deep sadness and profound gratitude, we reflect on a life that shaped Kuehne+Nagel and inspired generations. Through his vision, entrepreneurial spirit and unwavering commitment, he left a lasting mark on our company, our industry and countless people around the world. We honour his extraordinary legacy and extend our heartfelt sympathies to his family and loved ones.”
     Frank Huster, DG of the German federation DSLV published these lines, freely translated from German: “In Klaus-Michael Kühne, the logistics industry loses one of its most influential and fascinating entrepreneurial figures. As a long-standing visionary and driving force, he played a pivotal role in shaping the development of the international freight forwarding business and set benchmarks for entrepreneurial excellence.”
     I personally met Mr. Kuehne several years ago, invited to the Foundation in Germany for a public event when I was working for FIATA. The impact was unforgettable: he gave me the impression we were close, as he knew all that was surrounding my presence there and then for the meeting, he even asked my opinion on topics related to logistics and training. I took it as a great honour, that I was probably not able to reciprocate in any way or manner, because he was clearly so much higher than I was . . .  
     May his soul rest in peace: the world of transport and logistics will be forever indebted by his legacy.
Marco L. Sorgetti