They brought it to the top with courage, clarity and excellence – and with it the German economy: the long -term BMW-board and supervisory board chief Norbert Reithofer (69) and the multi-view councilor Clara-Christa Streit (56) were included in the “Hall of Fame of German Economy” for her extraordinary achievements. At a dinner at the Schlosshotel Kronberg, Manager Magazin honored the two outstanding personalities of the German corporate world.
Norbert Reithofer: “Mr. BMW”
Norbert Reithofer, a formative architect of the BMW success, rose from the young engineer to the head of technology in South Africa and the US boss. In 2006 he took over the chairmanship before finally moving to the head of the Supervisory Board. At the general meeting this year he finished his term. His successor was Nicolas Peter (63).
Reithofer spent a total of 38 years at BMW. “You are ‘MR BMW’ for me!” Says Ilse Aigner (60). In her eulogy, the Bavarian President of the Landtag and former Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Reithofer recognized as a visionary of German industry. Aigner emphasized Reithofer’s courage to have brought electromobility and start-up culture to the group with the pioneer model i3. She described him as “pragmatist who always acted clearly and consistently”. His leadership strength in times of crisis, his connection to his home and his “understatement” to always put the company in front of your own person would have made him a particularly good manager.
In his acceptance speech, Reithofer picked up the motto of the Hall of Fame: “The right measure is an attitude that has nothing to do with convenient mediocrity. Rather, it is about doing exactly the right thing at the right time.” Leadership is “the sum of courage, the right measure and the takeover of responsibility”. This attitude helped him to lead BMW through transformation and crises and to secure sustainable success.
Clara Streit: Top career in the service of Governance
In the festive ambience of the castle hotel, the 100 top guests also celebrated the inclusion of Clara-Christina Streit in the Hall of Fame. As one of the few women with two DAX supervisory board reserves (at the German stock exchange And vonovia) is one of the formative minds of the German economy, which have recognized a modern governance as a location factor. Since 2023 she has also been chair of the Government Commission of German Corporate Governance Codex and has gained great recognition there with her work, which is close to corporate practice.
After studying business administration in St. Gallen, Streit’s path led to a top career at McKinsey, where she was one of the few women who made it to partner at a young age. She then decided on a supervisory board career, proving that you don’t need a classic CEO career to get to the top of the German economy. Streit served as a supervisory board member at the Swiss bank Vontobel, at the Portuguese retail chain Jerónimo Martins and at the major bank Unicredit.
Commerzbank boss Bettina Orlopp (55), who has known dispute since McKinsey days together and is friends with her, kept the eulogy on dispute. She praised dispute unique analytical spirit, her philosophical and worldly nature and her ability to get involved in difficult characters in the leadership. Streit redefined the role of the Supervisory Board, Orlopp praised: As a sparring partner for the board and impulse provider for innovations, not as a mere control body. She quoted a credo: “Corporate governance is more than the code.”
In her thank you speech, Streit emphasized how important real feedback was for their development and success. “Good feedback is not just a gift, but a sign of deep trust and real care,” she said in Kronberg.