The company said it had cut the board from 17 to 14 members by dropping two North American and one German executive in a bid to accelerate growth 10 months after its $42 billion merger. It denied the departure of Stallkamp, the firm's North American president, had provoked a board room rift.

"There's simply nothing to that," co-chairman Robert Eaton told reporters in a teleconference. "The dynamics in the board of management are absolutely fantastic," he added.