BMW Group profile.
Board of Management.
Oliver Zipse
Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG
February 1964: Born in Heidelberg, Germany
Nationality: German
1983 – 1985: University of Utah, Salt Lake City/USA: Studies in Computer Science and Mathematics
1985 – 1991: Technical University Darmstadt: Graduation in Mechanical Engineering (Dipl.-Ing.)
1997 – 1999: WHU Koblenz and Kellogg School of Management, Evanston/USA: Executive MBA
1991: Joined BMW AG as Trainee in Development and Production
1992 – 1994: Project Engineer for Technology Innovation
1994 – 2006: Various Leading Functions in Development, Production and Production Planning in Munich and South Africa
2007 – 2008: Managing Director Plant Oxford, UK
2009 – 2012: Senior Vice President Technical Planning
2012 – 2015: Senior Vice President Corporate Planning and Product Strategy
2015 – 15 August 2019: Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Production
since 16 August 2019: Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG
Ilka Horstmeier
Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Human Resources, Labour Relations Director
1969: Born in Duisburg, Germany
Nationality: German
1988 – 1994: Studied at Saarland University in Saarbrücken; degree in Business Administration
1995: Joined BMW Group as a trainee
1995 – 1997: Section manager, Human Resources and Organisational Development, Plant Munich
1997 – 1998: Head of Project Office Work Structures and Steering Bodyshop, Plant Munich
2001 – 2004: Head of Strategy Development, Production Concepts, BMW Group Research and Innovation Centre
2005 – 2009: Various management positions in production and logistics at Plants Dingolfing and Regensburg
2010 – 2011: Head of Engine Production Munich
2012 – 2013: Head of company-wide initiative “Future employment structures”
2013 – 2018: Senior Vice President Production and Planning Engines and E-Powertrain
2018 – 31 October 2019: Managing Director BMW Group Plant Dingolfing
since 01 November 2019: Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Human Resources, Labour Relations Director
Dr. Milan Nedeljković
Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG , Production
March 1969: Born in Krusevac, Serbia
Nationality: Serbian
1988 – 1993: Studied Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, USA)
2000 – 2004: Doctor of Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) at Chair of Metal Forming and Casting, Technical University of Munich
1993: Joined BMW Group as a trainee in Munich
1994 – 1999: Planning functions for bodyshop and press plant technologies
1999 – 2006: Various management positions at Plants Munich and Regensburg
2006 – 2010: Head of Paint Shop, MINI Plant Oxford
2010 – 2013: Head of Assembly, BMW Group Plant Leipzig
2013 – 2015: Managing Director BMW Group Plant Leipzig
2015 – 2018: Managing Director BMW Group Plant Munich
2018 – 30 September 2019: Senior Vice President Corporate Quality
since 01 October 2019: Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Production
Pieter Nota
Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Customer, Brands, Sales
July 1964: Born in Wageningen, Netherlands
Nationality: Dutch
1989: Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
1990 – 2005: Unilever
1990 – 1996: Brand- and Product Management, Unilever Netherlands
1996 – 1998: Marketing Manager Innovations, Unilever Europe, UK
1998 – 2002: Marketing Director and Member of the Executive Board, Unilever Poland
2002 – 2005: Marketing Director and Member of the Executive Board, Unilever Foods, Germany
2005 – 2010: Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, Beiersdorf AG, Germany
2010 – 2017: Royal Philips
2010 – 2011: Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Lifestyle, Netherlands
2011 – 2016: Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Personal Health, Netherlands
2016 – 2017: Executive Vice President, Personal Health and Chief Marketing Officer, Netherlands
01 January 2018 – 31 March 2019: Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and Brand BMW, Aftersales BMW Group
since 01 April 2019: Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Customer, Brands, Sales
Dr. Nicolas Peter
Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Finance
April 1962: Born in Mannheim, Germany
Nationality: German, French
1984 – 1988: Studied law at the Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Degree: 1st state examination
1988 – 1991: Degree: 2nd state examination
1989: PhD in the field of law (Dr. jur.) at the Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität Munich
1 April 1991: joined BMW AG
1991 – 1993: Various executive and project management functions in the finance area
1993 – 1996: Treasurer, BMW Coordination Center, Belgium
1996 – 1999: Group Leader, Corporate Finance
1999 – 2002: Managing Director Finance and Administration, BMW France
2002 – 2004: Head of BMW Sweden
2005 – 2007: Head of Sales Steering, Process Development and IT
2007 – 2011: Head of Group Controlling
2011 – 31 December 2016: Head of Region Europe
since 01 January 2017: Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Finance
Frank Weber
Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development
July 1966: born in Wiesbaden, Germany
Nationality: German
1985 – 1990: Studied Mechanical Engineering at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering (Diplom-Ingenieur)
1990: Assistant to the Prof. Automotive Technology, TU Darmstadt
1991 – 1995: Adam Opel AG, Project Engineer Total Vehicle
1995 – 2007: Adam Opel AG / GM Europe
1995 – 2001: Various management positions in Development and Product Lines
2001 – 2004: Director Program Management
2004 – 2007: Director Advanced Concept Engineering
2007 – 2010: General Motors (Michigan, USA), Vehicle Line Executive Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera / Voltec Propulsion Architecture
2010 – 2011: Adam Opel AG, Vice President Business & Product Planning
2011: Joined BMW Group
2011 – 2014: Head of Development Total Vehicle
2015 – 2018: Head of Product Line Grand Series
2018 – 30 June 2020: Head of Product Line Rolls-Royce and Luxury Class BMW
since 01 July 2020: Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development
Dr.-Ing. Andreas Wendt
Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Purchasing and Supplier Network
July 1958: Born in Munich, Germany
Nationality: German
1980 – 1983: Studied Photography at the Bavarian State Academy of Photography, Munich
1984 – 1988: Studied General Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich
1992: Doctorate (with honours); thesis in “Quality assurance in flexibly automated assembly systems”
1992 – 2002: Various positions at Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart; lastly, head of brake plant in Barcelona, Spain
2002: Joined BMW AG as head of Strategy Development BMW Group Production
2003 – 2006: Head of Production “Suspension and Drive Train Components”
2006 – 2009: Managing Director of BMW Motoren GmbH, Steyr, Austria
2009 – 2017: Head of BMW Group Plant Regensburg
2017 – 30 September 2018: Head of BMW Group Plant Dingolfing
since 01 October 2018: Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Purchasing and Supplier Network
Supervisory Board.
Dr.-Ing. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Norbert Reithofer
Chairman and member of the Supervisory Board since 2015, appointed until 2025
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG, Former Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG
*Born in 1956
Nationality: German
- Studies of Mechanical Engineering at Fachhochschule München, Graduation as Diplom-Ingenieur (FH); Studies of Production Technology and Operating Science at Technische Universität München, Graduation as Diplom-Ingenieur; Ph.D. (Dr.-Ing.) at Technische Universität München
- 1987 joined BMW AG – Head of Maintenance Planning
- 1989 – 1991 Director of Control Technologies and Process Data Management
- 1991 – 1994 Director of the Body-in-White Production Division
- 1994 – 1997 Technical Director BMW South Africa
- 1997 – 2000 President BMW Manufacturing Corporation, USA (South Carolina)
- 2000 – 2006 Member of the Board of Management: Production
- September 2006 – May 2015 Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG
- since May 2015 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG
Manfred Schoch¹
Deputy Chairman and member of the Supervisory Board since 1988, appointed until 2024
Chairman of the European and General Works Council
*Born in 1955
Nationality: German
- Industrial engineering degree (Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieur) from Karlsruhe Technical University (TH)
- 1980 joined BMW AG
- since 1987 Chairman of the Works Council, Munich
- since 1987 Chairman of the General Works Council of BMW AG
- since 1996 Chairman of the European Works Council
- since 1994 Alternate President of the Board of Directors of the BMW health insurance fund (BKK)
Stefan Quandt
Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 1999, member of the Supervisory Board since 1997, appointed until 2024
Entrepreneur
*Born in 1966
Nationality: German
- Industrial engineering degree (Diplom Wirtschaftsingenieur), Technical University Karlsruhe (TH)
- 1994 – 1996 Datacard, Marketing Manager Asia Pacific
- since 1996 independent entrepreneur
Stefan Schmid¹
Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2008, member of the Supervisory Board since 2007, appointed until 2024
Chairman of the Works Council, Dingolfing
*Born in 1965
Nationality: German
- Apprenticeship in power plant electronics; metalworking foreman
- 1985 joined BMW AG
- since 1995 member, since 2004 Chairman of the Works Council, Dingolfing
- since 2004 Deputy Chairman of the General Works Council
Dr. jur. Karl-Ludwig Kley
Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2010, member of the Supervisory Board since 2008, appointed until 2021
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the E.ON SE and of the Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft
*Born in 1951
Nationality: German
- Industrial business apprenticeship at Siemens AG, studied law at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich; practical training in law in Hamburg and Johannesburg (South Africa)
- 1982 – 1998 Bayer AG, incl. executive functions in Finance and Pharmaceutical divisions, also in Japan and Italy
- 1998 – 2006 member of the Executive Board of Lufthansa AG, Finance division
- 2006 – 2007 Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA
- 2007 – 2016 Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA
- since June 2016 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of E.ON SE
- since September 2017 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft
Christiane Benner¹
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2014, appointed until 2024
Second Chairwoman of IG Metall
*Born in 1968
Nationality: German
- 1987 – 1993 trained as a multilingual secretary at mechanical engineering company Carl Schenk AG; employed in Sales from 1989 on
- 1993 – 1999 studied sociology at the Philipp University of Marburg and the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main
- 1995 – 1996 earned bachelor’s degree and worked in Chicago, USA
- since 1997 active in various branches and functions at IG Metall
- 2008 – 2011 divisional manager with the Executive Board of IG Metall (IT, engineering, target group work)
- 2011 – 2015 Executive Board member of IG Metall, specialised in IT, R&D, digitisation of work
- since 2015 Second Chairwoman of IG Metall, responsible for business policies, organizational development, target group work and equality, digitalization
Dr. Kurt Bock
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2018, appointed until 2023
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BASF SE
*Born 1958
Nationality: German
- Studied Business Administration at Münster and Cologne universities and at Pennsylvania State University, USA
- 1985 – 1991 various functions in the finance division of BASF AG
- 1991 – 1992 Head of Technology, Director Planning and Controlling for Engineering Plastics, BASF AG
- 1992 – 1996 Senior Vice President Finance and Accounting, Robert Bosch GmbH
- 1996 – 1998 Managing Director, Robert Bosch Ltda., Brazil
- 1998 – 2000 CFO of BASF Corporation, USA
- 2000 – 2002 President of Logistics and Information Services, BASF AG
- 2003 – 2011 Member of the Board of Executive Directors and CFO of BASF AG (BASF SE since 2008), since 2007 also Chairman and CEO of BASF Corporation, USA
- 2011 – 2018 Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE
- since 2020 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BASF SE
Verena zu Dohna-Jaeger¹
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2019, appointed until 2024
Department Head of the Works Constitution and Co-determination Policy Department with the Executive Board of IG Metall / (In-house) Lawyer
*Born in 1975
Nationality: German
- 1996 – 2001 Law studies at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt a.M.
- 2002 – 2004 First state examination in law and legal clerkship at the higher regional court (OLG) Frankfurt a.M., second state examination in law
- since 2005 Lawyer (company lawyer) with the Executive Board of IG Metall
- since 2015 Head of the Works Constitution and Co-determination Policy Department with the Executive Board of IG Metall / (In-house) Lawyer
Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Hiesinger
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2017, appointed until 2022
Supervisory Board member
*Born in 1960
Nationality: German
- Electrical engineering degree (Diplom-Ingenieur), Technical University of Munich
- 1992 – 2007 various management positions within Siemens Group
- 2007 – 2010 member of the Board of Management, Siemens AG
- 2010 – 2011 Vice Chairman of the Board of Management, thyssenkrupp AG
- 2011 – 2018 Chairman of the Board of Management, thyssenkrupp AG
- since 2019 member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Post AG
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. Reinhard F. Hüttl
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2008, appointed until 2023
Scientific Director and Manager of EUREF Energy Innovation GmbH
*Born in 1957
Nationality: German
- studied forestry and soil science (Diplom Forstwirt) at Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg i. Br. and Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA
- 1986 – 1992 head of international research department of the mining company Kali und Salz AG (BASF Group), Kassel
- 1987 – 1990 scientific advisor for the World Resources Institute, Washington D.C., USA
- 1990 – 1991 Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii, USA, Chair of Geobotany
- since 1993 Chair of Soil Protection and Recultivation Faculty at Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus
- since 2007 scientific advisor on the High-tech Climate Protection Strategy of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- 2007 – 2013 Scientific Executive Director and Chairman of the Academic Board of Directors of the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Helmholtz Centre Potsdam
- since 2008 acatech – German Academy of Science and Engineering, 2008 – 2017 President, since 2017 Vice President
- 2011 member of the German Federal Government’s “Secure Energy Supply” Ethics Committee
- since 2013 President of Euro-CASE (European Council of Academies of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering), Paris, France
- since 2015 Chairman of the Administrative Board of RWI (Leibniz Institute for Economic Research), Essen
Susanne Klatten
Member of the Supervisory Board since 1997, appointed until 2024
Entrepreneur
*Born in 1962
Nationality: German
- 1985 BSc Business Studies, University of Buckingham (UoB)
- 1988 MBA, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
- since 1991 independent entrepreneur
Horst Lischka¹
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2009, appointed until 2024
Secretary to the Executive Board of IG Metall
*Born in 1963
Nationality: German
- Apprenticeship as locksmith at Luitpoldhütte, Amberg
- 1987 – 1990 employee representative at Luitpoldhütte, Amberg
- since 1991 full-time official of the German Metalworkers’ Union (IG Metall)
- since 2008 General Representative of IG Metall Munich
- since 2008 member of the City Council of the state capital of Munich
- since 2011 member of the Executive Board of IG Metall
Willibald Löw¹
Member of the Supervisory Board since 1999, appointed until 2024
Chairman of the Works Council, Landshut
*Born in 1956
Nationality: German
- Industrial systems electronics apprenticeship at Eicher in Landau an der Isar; trained as industrial manager at BMW AG in Landshut
- 1979 joined BMW AG
- 1979 – 1987 electronics maintenance technician
- 1987 – 1994 independent employee representative
- since 1994 Chairman of the Works Council, Landshut
Simone Menne
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2015, appointed until 2021
Member of Supervisory Boards
*Born in 1960
Nationality: German
- 1978 – 1981 Trained as assistant in audit and tax professions, Büro Schwark, Rammsee
- 1982 – 1987 Studied Business Administration at Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, graduated with degree (Diplom)
- 1989 – 2012 various functions at Deutsche Lufthansa group in Germany and abroad
- 2012 – 2016 Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG (CFO), responsible for Finance and Aviation Services
- 2016 – 2017 Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim Group with responsibility for Finance
Dr. rer. pol. Dominique Mohabeer¹
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2012, appointed until 2024
Member of the Works Council, Munich
*Born in 1963
Nationality: German
- 1985 – 1988 studied Sinology at University of Munich; attended interpreting school
- 1988 – 1995 studied business administration at University of Munich (Diplom-Kauffrau)
- 1995 – 1999 University of Kassel, research assistant at Institute for Applied Work Science
- 2000 joined BMW AG
- since 2002 member of the Works Council, Munich
Brigitte Rödig¹
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2013, appointed until 2024
Member of the Works Council, Dingolfing
*Born in 1963
Nationality: German
- Attended school of domestic science; apprenticeship as garment maker
- 1982 joined BMW AG
- since 1987 member of the Works Council, Dingolfing
- since 2008 Chair of the Committee for Safety, Ergonomics, Health and Environmental Protection at the Dingolfing site
- since 2018 Chair of the Committee for Occupational Safety of the General Works Council of BMW AG
Anke Schäferkordt
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2020, appointed until 2025
Member of Supervisory Boards
*Born in 1962
Nationality: German
- Diploma in Business Management, studied at the University of Paderborn,
- 1988 – 1991 various positions at Bertelsmann AG
- 1991 – 1995 various functions at RTL Television
- 1995 – 2005 CFO (until 1998), since 1999 Managing Director of VOX Film- und Fernseh GmbH & Co. KG
- 2012 – 2017 Co-CEO of RTL Group S.A., Luxembourg
- 2005 – 2018 Managing Director of RTL Television und Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland GmbH
- 2012 – 2018 Member of the Board of Directors of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA
- since 2010 Member of the Supervisory Board of BASF SE
- since 2019 Non-executive director of Wayfair Inc, Boston, Massachusetts, USA and member of the Supervisory Board of Serviceplan Group Management SE
Dr. Vishal Sikka
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2019, appointed until 2024
Founder and CEO of Vianai Systems, Inc.
*Born in 1967
Nationality: U.S. American
- 1990 B.Sc. in Computer Science from Syracuse University, New York, USA
- 1990 – 1996 Doctoral studies (Ph.D.) at Stanford University in Artificial Intelligence, USA
- 1996 – 2002 Stations at Xerox, iBrain und Bodha, Inc.
- 2002 – 2010 Various positions at SAP AG
- 2010 – 2014 Member of the Executive Board of SAP AG (since May 2014: SAP SE), Head of all Products and Technology
- 2014 – 2017 CEO and Managing Director of Infosys Limited, India
- since 2018 Founder and CEO of Vianai Systems, Inc., USA
- since 2019 Board of Directors, Oracle
- since 2019 Member of Advisory Council of Standford Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Thomas Wittig¹
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2019, appointed until 2024
Senior Vice President Financial Services
*Born in 1960
Nationality: German
- 1979 – 1984 studied business administration (University of Regensburg), graduated with diploma in business administration
- 1985 – 1988 Research assistant at the institute for business taxation (University of Regensburg), doctorate in economics
- 1988 – 1989 Specialist International Corporate Taxation, Munich Reinsurance AG
- 1989 – 1998 Various function within BMW AG accounting
- 1998 – 2001 Vice President Group Financial Planning and Controlling
- 2001 – 2002 Executive Vice President CFO BMW (US) Holding Corp., USA
- 2003 – 2004 Vice President Sales Planning, Process and IT Planning
- 2005 – 2017 Senior Vice President Group Reporting
- since 2017 Senior Vice President Financial Services
Werner Zierer¹
Member of the Supervisory Board since 2001, appointed until 2024
Chairman of the Works Council, Regensburg
*Born in 1959
Nationality: German
- Apprenticeship in electrical systems installation and power plant electronics with skilled worker certification (IHK)
- 1988 – 1989 qualified as industrial foreman for energy and control systems
- 1981 – 1985 electronics technician at Deutsche Bundesbahn in Regensburg
- 1985 joined BMW AG
- 1986 – 2000 employee representative and Deputy Chairman of the Works Council
- since 2000 Chairman of the Works Council, Regensburg
¹ Employee representatives
Corporate Governance.
Corporate Governance at the BMW Group.
For the BMW Group, corporate governance is an all-embracing topic which involves all areas of the company. Transparent reporting and a corporate governance policy aimed at the interests of stakeholders are well-established traditions within the BMW Group. Cooperation between the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board, in an atmosphere of commonly shared trust and responsibility has long been the basis for managing the BMW Group. The underlying corporate culture at BMW is based on the principles of transparency, placing trust in others and taking responsibility for one's own actions.
The BMW Group believes that the recommendations and suggestions contained in the German Corporate Governance Code help make the German financial market more attractive, in particular for international investors.
