BMW Names Production Chief New CEO
BMW’s Vorstand, or supervisory board, announced the appointment of Oliver Zipse to the position of chief executive officer.
The appointment is effective on August 16, 2019, the Munich-based automaker said following a meeting of the Vorstand in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where BMW has a plant. Mr. Zipse will succeed Harald Krüger, who in July told the Vorstand he would not seek a second term of office.
Oliver Zipse is “a decisive strategic and analytical leader,” said BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer in a statement. “He will provide the BMW Group with fresh momentum in shaping the mobility of the future.”
The new CEO joined BMW in 1991 as a trainee and has held various management positions including managing director of the Oxford plan and senior vice president of corporate planning and product strategy.
With Mr. Zipse, BMW is continuing a tradition of picking CEOs who are well versed in the assembly of premium cars at scale. Mr. Reithofer, a former CEO, also served as production chief, as had Mr. Krueger.
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