Norbert Reithofer (born 29 May 1956 in Penzberg,

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

) is a German businessman and former chairman of the board of management (CEO) of

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

. He served as chairman of the supervisory board from 2015 to 2025.

Early life and education

After finishing his Fachabitur, Reithofer graduated in

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 ...

at the Munich University of Applied Sciences in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. He then moved on to the

Technical University Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a Public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied science, applied and natural sciences. Est ...

to study Engineering and

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

. After graduation, he became research assistant at the university at the Institute for Machine Tools and Business Administration of Joachim Milberg, under whom he gained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

Career

In 1987, Reithofer joined BMW as head of maintenance planning. From 1991 to 1994 he was director of the Body in White Production Division. From 1994 to 1997 Reithofer then became Technical Director of BMW South Africa. From 1997 to 2000, Reithofer was president BMW Manufacturing Corporation (USA), based in Spartanburg,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. In March 2000, Reithofer returned to Munich to join the BMW Board of Management, responsible for production. In 2002, Reithofer and Development Chief Burkhard Goeschel halved the standard BMW time it took to reach full production of the new generation E90 3 Series, from six months to three. On 1 September 2006 Reithofer succeeded Helmut Panke as chairman of the board and CEO of BMW. During his time leading the company, he oversaw a push into lower price categories for BMW and the introduction of a line of electric cars. He also foresaw the effect that the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

would have on sales and cut back production in time largely to avoid the losses suffered by competitors including

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

. Importantly, he led BMW to record profits, mainly by selling expensive SUVs and luxury cars in China. Reithofer stepped down early in May 2015 and was replaced by Harald Krüger; instead, he moved to the non-executive role of chairman of the supervisory board in which he served from 2015 to 2025. At the time of his appointment, critics held the move would go against general corporate governance practice as there was no cooling-off period between the two roles. In 2023, Reithofer was reportedly the highest-paid member of any German company's supervisory board, with a total annual compensation of 610,000 euros.

Other activities

Corporate boards

* Henkel, Member of the Shareholders‘ Committee (since 2011) *

Allianz Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

, Member of Joint Advisory Council (since 2007) * Siemens, Member of the supervisory board (2015–2023)

Non-profit organizations

* Eberhard von Kuenheim Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees * Max Planck Society, Member of the Senate

Awards and honours

* 2005: Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold (Grosses Goldenes Ehrenzeichen) for Services to the Republic of Austria (2005) * 2010: Bayerischen Verdienstorden * 2012 Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur

References

External links

Interview with Autoweek on gaining CEO's position
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reithofer, Norbert 1956 births Living people Technical University of Munich alumni German chief executives Chief executives in the automobile industry BMW people Directors of BMW Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria