Markus Liebherr
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Markus Liebherr (30 March 1948 – 10 August 2010) was a German-born Swiss businessman and a member of one of Europe's top family business dynasties. He was a
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
entrepreneur and owner of MALI International AG, which he founded in 1994.


Early life

He was born one of five children and was the son of Hans Liebherr, who started the company
Liebherr Liebherr () is a German-Swiss multinational corporation, multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany. Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divi ...
, one of the world's leading manufacturers of construction machinery, set up over 60 years ago in Germany. Markus Liebherr studied
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
and had an increased interest in special agricultural vehicles.


Career

He was given equal shares in the German holding company in the 1980s when the business moved its management headquarters to Switzerland, with his siblings Hubert,
Willi Willi is a given name, nickname (often a short form or hypocorism of Wilhelm) and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Willi Apel (1893–1988), German-American musicologist * Willi Boskovsky (1909–1991), Austrian violin ...
and
Isolde Iseult ( ), alternatively Isolde ( ) and other spellings, is the name of several characters in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult the Blonde, or Iseult of Ireland, the wife of Mark of Cornwall and the lover of Trista ...
. He later handed most of his shares back to his family, and ran his own group of companies, the Mali Group, from 1994 until his death. He founded the company in Heinrichsburg near
Eberhardzell Eberhardzell () is a municipality in the Biberach (district), district of Biberach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Culture and Attractions * Parish church ''St. Maria'' * Clergy house * Ratusz from 1746 * Castle ''Heinrichsburg'' Notable pe ...
in the district of Biberach in
Upper Swabia Upper Swabia ( or ) is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.''Brockhaus Enzyklopädie.'' 19. Auflage. Band 16, 1991, p. 72. The name refers to the area between the Swabian Jura, Lake Con ...
. After the Bavarian tractor manufacturer Anton Schlüter München ceased production in the early 1990s, Mali developed an unofficial successor. Liebherr had previously equipped some Schlüter tractors with Liebherr engines. Only a few prototypes of the two models of the ''Mali trac'' with 250 and 300 hp were built, although the concept with suspended front axle, 50 km/h top speed, large cab with rotating operator's platform and removable power lift and hydraulic block was groundbreaking. However, the company was not satisfied with the tried-and-tested transmissions, so the project was initially put on hold.


MALI International AG

The MALI Group focuses on the development and market launch of products for the off-road sector. For these vehicles it develops transmission technology, injection technology, development, vehicle construction, control technology. The company's end customers are forestry companies,
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
, road maintenance services,
farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...
s or even the
emergency management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...
with all its equipment carrier vehicles. The Mali group contains five independent businesses, all belonging to the MALI Markus Liebherr International group whose head offices are in Fribourg, Switzerland. * One of the companies is CRT Common Rail Technologies AG based in Beringen, Switzerland – a business concerning the ‘research and design of common rail systems’. * Another of his companies is Mali Motan AG, also based in Beringen and concerning the ‘manufacturing and sales of CVT transmissions and common rail systems." * A third company is the German-based BSG Bodensee Steuergeräte – its primary business being the ‘research, design, manufacturing and sales of electronic control units for common rail injection and transmissions." * MALI Spezialfahrzeuge GmbH based in Eberhardzell, Germany, concerns ‘research and design transmission technology.’ * MALI Spezialfahrzeugbau GmbH, based in Elbe, Germany, deals with ‘research, design, manufacture and sale’ of offroad vehicles. At Agritechnica 2009, the world's largest trade fair for
agricultural machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the machine (mechanical), mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are list of agricultural machinery, many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractor ...
, Mali presented its trac-140 system carrier for municipal applications. Also on display from Kirowez importer L&K (Land- und Kraftfahrzeugtechnik Stadtilm) was a 400-hp articulated tractor equipped with Mali's WSG-250 continuously variable transmission. MALI Spezialfahrzeuge GmbH in Schönebeck filed for insolvency in 2012.


Southampton Football Club

On 8 July 2009, 98 days after
Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC Southampton Leisure Holdings Public Limited Company, PLC was the parent company of Southampton F.C., Southampton Football Club Ltd and was listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. The company was placed into adminis ...
,
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
's former holding company, had been placed in administration under
Begbies Traynor Begbies Traynor () (until 1997 known as Traynor & Partners) is a firm specialising in corporate restructuring. They were formed in 1989, expanded through mergers and organic growth and were floated in 2004. The company employs over 700 people and ...
, Liebherr's bid to buy the club was successfully completed. The total amount he had paid has not been disclosed but it is believed to be around £13–15 million. In the first year of Liebherr's ownership, Southampton overcame a ten-point deduction for going into administration to mount a late challenge for the play-offs, missing out by seven points. On 28 March 2010, Southampton won the
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
. Following his death in August 2010, the club was inherited by his daughter Katharina Liebherr. Since then, Southampton achieved back-to-back promotions to the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and solidified themselves in that division for 11 years before being relegated in 2023. In 2017, Katharina Liebherr sold an 80% stake in the club for
GBP Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...
210 million to Chinese Lander Sports Investment company owned by the Gao family.


Death

Liebherr died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
, on 10 August 2010. He reached the age of 62 years.


References


External links


Markus Liebherr
- ''The Independent'' Obituary - 27 August 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Liebherr, Markus 1948 births 2010 deaths Swiss football chairmen and investors German expatriates in Switzerland Southampton F.C. directors and chairmen Swiss businesspeople People from Biberach (district)