Bernd Pischetsrieder
| Bernd Pischetsrieder | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder 15 February 1948 Munich, Bavaria, Germany |
| Occupation |
Chairman, Munich Re (since 2013) Scania AB (2002 - 2007), Chairman & CEO, Volkswagen AG (2002 - 2006), Chairman & CEO, SEAT, S.A. (2000 - 2002), CEO, BMW (1993 - 1999) |
| Known for | Bugatti Veyron |
Dr. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder (born 15 February 1948) is a German automobile engineer and manager.
He was born in Munich, Bavaria, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich from 1968 to 1972. He earned the degree of "Diplom-Ingenieur", and began his career at BMW in 1973 as a Production Planning Engineer. He was promoted to become chairman of the board of BMW from 1993 through 1999. He was also chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, the parent company of the Volkswagen Group, from 2002 to 2006, and chairman of Scania AB until 2007.
During his time as head of BMW, Pischetsrieder was known for solidifying the company's position as a leader in the luxury car market with a solid sporting and engineering reputation. His decision in 1994 to purchase Rover Group from British Aerospace was widely regarded as a failure on paper. Although many of the assets were sold at vast profit and the purchase brought the valuable Mini and Land Rover marques into BMW ownership, the Rover passenger car operation drained the company's coffers. Rover was sold off in 2000, with Ford taking on Land Rover, and the Mini brand remaining at BMW. A more lasting achievement was the assumption of the Rolls-Royce marque, a deal which left rival Volkswagen Group manager, Ferdinand Piëch, with only the Bentley marque, and the Crewe factory.However, this operation has turned out to be much more successful than the Rolls Royce operation, and it is a matter of debate whether BMW would have been better off keeping Bentley rather than having to take a licence for the Rolls Royce name
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Wikipedia