HANNOVER, Germany (Dec. 16, 2002) – Continental A.G. has appointed Martien de Louw, previously with DAF Trucks in Europe, to the company´s executive board responsible for the passenger tire division, effective Feb. 1. Initially he will be based at Continental Tire North America Inc. headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.
Mr. de Louw, 56, will take over responsibility for the passenger tire business from Conti Chairman Manfred Wennemer, who has overseen the division, in addition to his other duties, since January 2002. At that time Continental revamped its tire division's corporate structure into two global reporting units, one for passenger/light truck and one for commercial tires.
Mr. de Louw, a native of the Netherlands, is leaving DAF after 30 years with the truck maker, which is a subsidiary of the Paccar Group. There he is a board member in charge of DAF Truck. Prior to joining DAF in 1972, Mr. de Louw was employed by Group Michelin in Germany and France and by Royal Philips Electronics in the Netherlands. His academic background is in machine engineering.