FRANKFURT: BMW board member Oliver Zipse (pictured), a 55-year-old company veteran, is the frontrunner to become the carmaker’s new chief executive, sources said after Harald Krueger announced he would not stay on beyond April 2020.
Krueger said he would not seek a potential extension of his contract, thereby pre-empting deliberations about whether to give him another five-year term.
BMW declined to comment on whether Zipse would be confirmed as chief executive, saying the matter of potential executive appointments will be formally decided on July 18 when the full supervisory board is due to meet.
Zipse is the youngest of three potential successors, a possible advantage as BMW has an upper age limit of 60 for management board members.
He joined BMW as a trainee in 1991 and oversaw big increases in BMW’s production capacity, particularly in China and the United States.
Zipse is also a favourite because his current job is head of production, a role which previous BMW chief executives, including Krueger and BMW’s current supervisory board chairman Norbert Reithofer, also held before becoming CEO.
BMW, which also owns the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, has a track record of delivering industry-leading profit margins despite its small scale, thanks in large part to efficient production methods.
Before becoming a management board member in 2015, Zipse was a vice president of technical planning and for product strategy.
“The CEO candidate will not be a surprise,” one of the sources said.
Zipse’s potential rivals include 59-year-old R&D board member Klaus Froehlich and 57-year-old Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter. Another possible rival is Markus Duesmann, BMW’s engine development expert, who left for Volkswagen in 2018. — Reuters
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