MAHLE names Dr. Jörg Stratmann as new CEO and Chairman of the Management Board

Dr. Jörg Stratmann

• The 48-year-old industrial engineer becomes the new CEO of the MAHLE Group as of February 1, 2018.
• Wolf-Henning Scheider leaves MAHLE on January 31, 2018.
• Succession arrangements and new appointments at the top-level management of the MAHLE Group implemented quickly and sustainably.

STUTTGART, 05-Feb-2018 — /EuropaWire/ — As of February 1, the new CEO of MAHLE, the fourth-largest German automotive supplier with sales of around EUR 13 billion and 77,000 employees, will be Dr. Jörg Stratmann. When ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Wolf-Henning Scheider, Chairman of the MAHLE Management Board until the end of January, both expressed the desire for a change, the MAHLE Group was able to resolve the matter swiftly.

This quick transition was made much easier because MAHLE had already earmarked Dr. Jörg Stratmann as a possible successor. Dr. Stratmann joined the MAHLE Group after leaving Continental AG in 2008 and has taken on increasingly demanding tasks. Until now, he has been responsible for managing the entire MAHLE Behr Group, now the MAHLE Thermal Management business unit, which comprises a number of operational units and most recently accounted for over 45 percent of MAHLE’s group sales with its future-oriented products.

“Dr. Stratmann brings a wealth of automotive experience—from both a technical and a business perspective. He is the ideal person to head the MAHLE Group,” stated Chairman of the MAHLE Supervisory Board, Prof. Dr. Heinz K. Junker.

Following in his footsteps is Bernd Eckl (50), who since April 1, 2017, has been a Member of the MAHLE Management Board with responsibility for the Engine Systems and Components business unit, which generates around 22 percent of MAHLE’s group sales. Bernd Eckl joined MAHLE from Getrag at the start of 2017 and rapidly made an outstanding contribution with his excellent teamwork within the MAHLE Management Board.

Georg Dietz (54) has been appointed a Member of the MAHLE Management Board for the Engine Systems and Components business unit. He has worked at MAHLE for 28 years and has demonstrated his technical and international competence in a wide variety of roles and with long deployments abroad.

MAHLE would like to wish the departing Chairman of the MAHLE Management Board, Wolf-Henning Scheider, who steps down on January 31, 2018, all the best and much success in his future role. “Our thanks go to Mr. Scheider above all for his intensive work during the transformation process that is currently affecting the whole automotive industry,” commented Prof. Junker.

“I firmly believe that with these personnel changes and new appointments we have made the right choices to guarantee a sustainable setup within the top level of management at the MAHLE Group. It is particularly important to me that we further focus on the ongoing technological development of MAHLE’s product portfolio. With the top management team at the head of the group, we are sure to succeed. I would particularly like to thank all shareholders and the members of the group’s boards and committees, including those on the employee side, of course, who have helped us to make these time-critical decisions with the necessary urgency. Without this intensive cooperation at all levels, such a prompt solution would not have been possible,” added Prof. Junker.

Dr. Jörg Stratmann

Born in 1969 in Münster/Germany, Jörg Stratmann studied industrial engineering with a specialization in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin after graduating from high school. He began his professional career in the Controlling department at Siemens Automobiltechnik in Regensburg/Germany. After earning his doctorate in 2000, he took on roles in the USA, Italy, and Romania with Siemens VDO. In Romania, he was responsible for the management of the national company as well as that of the development center and the electronics plant.

In 2006, he returned to Regensburg as Head of the Electronic Control Units for Gasoline Engines segment. Just over a year later, Siemens VDO was acquired by Continental AG, and he became Head of the Commercial Vehicles customer segment. In 2008, he moved to Stuttgart/Germany to join the MAHLE Group. As a Member of the Management Committee, he was initially responsible for the Liquid Management Systems product line, and he then took over the management of Automotive Sales and Application Engineering from May 2009. In February 2013, he joined the Management Board of the MAHLE Behr Group, and he assumed the role of Chairman in July 2013. In 2014, he was also appointed to the Management Board of the MAHLE Group, and since then he has been responsible for the Thermal Management business unit.

Bernd Eckl

Bernd Eckl was born in 1967 in Lauterbach/Germany. In 1991, he graduated as a mechanical engineer from the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences in Germany. From 1992, he worked in various roles at Mannesmann VDO AG before moving to GETRAG GmbH & Cie KG in 2000 as a Member of the Management Board and Head of Purchasing. He became a Member of the Management Board of GETRAG International GmbH in 2004 and a Member of the Corporate Management Board and Executive Vice President of GETRAG International GmbH in 2012.

Since 2017, Bernd Eckl has been a Member of the MAHLE Management Board and until now has been responsible for the Engine Systems and Components business unit as well as for group-wide quality management, safety at work, and environmental management.

Georg Dietz

Georg Dietz was born in 1963 in Stuttgart/Germany. He graduated as an engineer from RWTH Aachen University in Germany in 1988. He has held various roles at MAHLE since 1989, including Managing Director Production at MAHLE Metal Leve S.A. in Brazil between 2001 and 2003, where he was responsible for three production plants. From 2004, he was head of the pistons product line in South America and took on the global leadership of the Valve Train Systems product line in 2008. Since 2009, he has managed the Europe organization of the Engine Components and Systems business unit.

About MAHLE

MAHLE is a leading international development partner and supplier to the automotive industry as well as a pioneer for the mobility of the future. The MAHLE Group is committed to making transportation more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and more comfortable by continuously optimizing the combustion engine, driving forward the use of alternative fuels, and laying the foundation for the worldwide introduction of e-mobility. The group’s product portfolio addresses all the crucial issues relating to the powertrain and air conditioning technology—both for drives with combustion engines and for e-mobility. MAHLE products are fitted in at least every second vehicle worldwide. Components and systems from MAHLE are also used off the road—in stationary applications, for mobile machinery, rail transport, as well as marine applications.

In 2016, the group generated sales of approximately EUR 12.3 billion with about 77,000 employees and is represented in 34 countries with 170 production locations. At 16 major development centers in Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Spain, Slovenia, the USA, Brazil, Japan, China, and India, 6,000 development engineers and technicians are working on innovative solutions for the mobility of the future.

For further information, contact:

MAHLE GmbH
Ruben Danisch
Corporate Communications/Public Relations
Pragstraße 26–46
70376 Stuttgart, Germany

Phone: +49 711 501-12199
Fax: +49 711 501-13700
ruben.danisch@mahle.com

SOURCE: MAHLE GmbH