BMW’s Vorstand, or supervisory board, announced the appointment of Oliver Zipse to the position of chief executive officer.
The appointment is effective on August 16, 2019, the Munich-based automaker said following a meeting of the Vorstand in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where BMW has a plant. Mr. Zipse will succeed Harald Krüger, who in July told the Vorstand he would not seek a second term of office.
Oliver Zipse is “a decisive strategic and analytical leader,” said BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer in a statement. “He will provide the BMW Group with fresh momentum in shaping the mobility of the future.”
The new CEO joined BMW in 1991 as a trainee and has held various management positions including managing director of the Oxford plan and senior vice president of corporate planning and product strategy.
With Mr. Zipse, BMW is continuing a tradition of picking CEOs who are well versed in the assembly of premium cars at scale. Mr. Reithofer, a former CEO, also served as production chief, as had Mr. Krueger.
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