Oliver Zipse has been at the helm of BMW since August 2019 – and he will do so for three more years. His contract has now been extended.
The car manufacturer BMW has extended the contract of CEO Oliver Zipse early until 2026. The supervisory board also decided today to replace sales director Pieter Nota and appointed BMW China boss Jochen Goller as his successor.
Supervisory board chairman Norbert Reithofer said: “With Jochen Goller, we are appointing an internationally experienced sales manager to the board who, as a proven China expert, knows the BMW Group’s largest market like no other.” The 57-year-old has been with BMW since 1999, was marketing director in China from 2004 to 2009, then head of the Mini brand and returned to China in 2015 – first as head of sales for BMW in the world’s largest car market, then as the group’s head of China.
The 59-year-old Pieter Nota, whose contract actually runs until 2024, is due to vacate his position for Goller on November 1st. But he received great praise when he left. Reithofer said that under his leadership, BMW is on track to “reach or even exceed pre-Corona levels” in sales this year. He digitized sales and reorganized it with the agency model. The Dutchman started his career at Unilever, was a board member at Beiersdorf and Philips and joined BMW in 2018.
The “Handelsblatt” had already reported on the extension of Zipse’s contract last week. The 59-year-old Zipse has been at the helm of the DAX group since August 2019, has significantly expanded business in China and made a record profit last year. In the next three years, he is expected to bring BMW’s “New Class” onto the market, which is tailored entirely to electric drives, increase the share of electric cars in sales to a third and promote digitalization.
Reithofer said: “In a phase of global crises and profound transformation, the BMW Group not only achieved reliably robust results under his leadership, but also sustainably strengthened its leading position in global competition.” Works council boss Martin Kimmich said: “The good cooperation between the board and the works council will be continued with the reappointment of Oliver Zipse.” We will “continue to make constructive decisions together.”
Source: Stern
