HANOVER, Germany (Sept. 10, 2009) — Former BMW A.G. and Ford Motor Co. executive Wolfgang Reitzle is being considered by Continental A.G. for chairman of its supervisory board.
Continental said its largest shareholder Schaeffler K.G. persuaded Mr. Reitzle, CEO of the German industrial gases supplier Linde A.G., to consider taking the position. Conti said it will apply to the district court of Hanover for his appointment as member of the supervisory board, which then vote on his appointment as chairman.
He will continue as CEO of Linde, a spokesman for that company said.
Mr. Reitzle apparently will fill the seat of Michael Frenzel, chairman of the executive board of TUI A.G. and member of Conti's super¬visory board, who has told Conti he wants to resign his position on Conti's board due to the demands of his full-time position at TUI.
Current Supervisory Board Chairman Rolf Koerfer plans to give up the chairman's position, but he will continue to be a member of the board and a member of the chairman's committee, Continental said.
“By reorganizing the executive board and now by filling the position in the supervisory board with a neutral person who comes from outside the two companies, Continental AG has established the personnel groundwork required to lead the company into a sustainably successful future together with its major shareholder,” Mr. Koerfer said.
In a separate release, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, co-owner of Schaeffler Group, said: “We are very pleased that we have been able to persuade Professor Reitzle to take on this challenging mandate…. His profound knowledge of the industry and his international entrepreneurial experience are excellent prerequisites for this post. We have complete trust in him.”
Mr. Reitzle, 60, was an executive with BMW from 1976 to 1999, including 13 years on the car maker's executive board. He moved to Ford in 1999 after losing a battle at BMW to become chairman and stayed at Ford until 2002, overseeing Ford's Premier Automotive Group, which included Ford's Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lincoln, Volvo and Land Rover brands.
If he gets the job, Mr. Reitzle will be Conti's third chairman in the last year. Hubertus von Gruenberg left after clashing with Schaeffler, and Mr. Koerfer, a Schaeffler appointee to the board, is being replaced because Continental and Schaeffler want an independent person as chairman.
Douglas Bolduc, Automotive News, contributed to this article.