BMW extends contract of CEO Zipse until 2026
The Supervisory Board of BMW AG has extended Oliver Zipse’s contract as Chairman of the Board of Management until 2026. The carmaker thus confirms previously leaked rumours about Zipse staying on board. Zipse has been a member of the Board of Management (responsible for production) since 2015 and Chairman of the Board of Management since August 2019.
During his time at the board’s helm, the BMW Group has significantly expanded its range of electric models. In addition, the development of the New Class as the upcoming model generation kicked off, with production starting in 2025.
“Oliver Zipse has very successfully steered the company in recent years through an extremely volatile environment. In a phase of global crises and profound transformation, the BMW Group has not only achieved reliably robust results under his leadership, but has also sustainably strengthened its leading position in global competition,” says Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG. “With the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group is well on track to further expand this position.” The works council also favours the contract extension and praises the good cooperation.
Since BMW extended the contract by two years, the Supervisory Board made an exception for Zipse. The carmaker has an internal age limit of 60 years for board members, and after 60, people receive only one-year contracts. Zipse will turn 60 on 7 February 2024 – so he will be 62 when his contract ends in summer 2026.
At its meeting, the Supervisory Board also appointed Jochen Goller to the Board of Management of BMW AG. He will succeed Pieter Nota as head of the Customer, Brands and Sales on 1 November 2023. Nota has been a board member for sales since 2018 and is not a proven automotive expert – he joined BMW from the consumer goods sector. The carmaker acknowledges Nota’s merits in the sales of electric vehicles and the digitalisation of the customer interface.
BMW does not mention why Nota is leaving the company. Reithofer says, “the Supervisory Board would like to thank Pieter Nota for his great commitment and in particular for the important impulses he has brought to the sales organisation with his extensive experience outside the automotive industry.”
A clue about BMW’s decision can be found in his successor’s CV: “With Jochen Goller, we are appointing an internationally experienced sales manager to the Board of Management and a proven China expert who knows the BMW Group’s largest market like no other,” Reithofer says. BMW does not provide any information on the duration of Goller’s contract.
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