$94 billion international retail company, METRO AG, based in Germany, has hired Donatus Kaufmann as the new head of corporate legal affairs and compliance, effective Feb. 15, 2011. In this function, he will also serve as group general counsel and as chief compliance officer of METRO GROUP.

In his new function, he will report directly to the CEO Eckhard Cordes. 

As general counsel, Kaufmann will be responsible for all legal affairs of METRO AG and also will advise the sales divisions and foreign subsidiaries. Kaufmann joins METRO AG from pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim, where he most recently was corporate senior vice president for the corporate division "Law Trademarks Insurance Real Estate/Corporate Legal” and group general counsel since 2004.