The future path of Nicolas Peter (62) seemed to be clear. Heinz-Hermann Thiele was the car manufacturer’s then CFO BMW made a tempting offer. Thiele, now deceased patriarch of the Munich supplier Knorr-Bremse, wanted to make Peter chairman of the supervisory board
. The BMW man was supposed to lead the flourishing billion-dollar company Knorr-Bremse into the future.
But Norbert Reithofer (68), chairman of the supervisory board at BMW, only had one word for it – so the legend goes: “No”.
That was in spring 2021. Peter got a new two-year contract as CFO, left in May 2023, and another two years later, coincidence or not, completely new career paths opened up for him.
Nicolas Peter should replace Norbert Reithofer as chairman of the BMW supervisory board after the general meeting in May 2025, insiders tell manager magazin. The decision only needs to be formally confirmed. Unlike Reithofer’s election in 2015, BMW is also taking into account the two-year waiting period recommended in the Corporate Governance Code before a board member moves to the supervisory board. The company does not comment on the information, the “Handelsblatt
” was first reported.
Peter enjoys the trust of major shareholders Stefan Quandt (58) and Susanne Klatten (62), who control half of the voting rights and have been members of the supervisory board for decades. Traditionally, the control committee is headed by former top managers. Peter will now be tasked with, among other things, successfully leading BMW through the transformation.
After Peter left the board in spring 2023, he took over the management of the BMW Foundation. The former CFO will take office in a one-for-all manner Auto industry enter into a difficult phase. A number of car manufacturers and suppliers have announced the reduction of thousands of jobs, and there have recently been repeated profit warnings. BMW resisted the crisis for a long time, but recently warned of a lower result in 2024 than expected. Reason among other things: problems with one of Continental supplied brake and an associated mass recall
.