Stefan Sommer
The Volkswagen Board of Management responsible for Components and Procurement and the former ZF boss is moving to the Knorr-Bremse Supervisory Board.
(Photo: Reuters)
Stuttgart Stefan Sommer, former head of ZF Friedrichshafen, occupies the vacant place on the Knorr-Bremse supervisory board for company patriarch Heinz Hermann Thiele, who died in February. His position as deputy chairman of the supervisory board, however, is to be held by Deutsche Börse boss Theodor Weimer, who is already a member of the supervisory body.
With summer, supervisory board chairman Klaus Mangold has achieved another high-profile new commitment for the brake manufacturer. “Mr. Sommer is a great asset. With his expertise, he is very important to us, especially for our second mainstay, the commercial vehicle division, ”Mangold told Handelsblatt.
He knows both the supplier side and the customer perspective through his work as head of purchasing at Volkswagen. The supervisory board is also strongly occupied industrially and strategically with ex-Airbus boss Tom Enders, whose mandate is to be extended.
The Sommer personnel is still explosive: until three and a half years ago, the 58-year-old headed the much larger ZF Group. The core of his strategy at the time was to develop the truck brakes business and launch a frontal attack on one of Knorr-Bremse’s core businesses.
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First, in the summer of 2016, there was a bitter takeover battle with the Munich-based supplier for the Swedish brake manufacturer Haldex. Knorr finally outbid ZF, later the takeover failed due to cartel regulations.
Sommer did not give up and tried by taking over the second largest brake specialist, Wabco, to reach the goal with even greater force. The then ZF boss absolutely wanted the eight billion euro deal. But for the foundation owners on the ZF Supervisory Board, the attack was too expensive – and too risky. Summer had to go at the end of 2017.
Ejected seat on the board post
His successor Wolf-Henning Scheider was allowed to implement the plan two years later and take over Wabco. In 2019, Sommer himself became the Board Member for Purchasing at Volkswagen. And now the architect of the strategy of Knorr-Bremse’s biggest competitor sits on its supervisory body. And thus the man who had recently given the company and its majority owner Thiele the most headache.
At the age of 77, Mangold should continue for a transition phase of up to two years. The planned election of BMW CFO Nicolas Peter as chief controller has been put on hold for the time being. “The final design of the family foundation will take at least until the end of the year,” said Mangold, justifying his stay.
There is a close exchange with everyone involved: the executor Robin Brühmüller, Heinz Hermann Thiele’s second wife Nadia and his daughter Julia Thiele-Schürhoff, who hold 59 percent of Knorr-Bremse through the foundation to be established.
Ex-Siemens manager Jan Mrosik has been in charge of the operative business since the beginning of the year. With the creation of the new Integrity and Law department and the engagement of Claudia Mayfeld from Innogy, the company was able to gain a strong personality. The chairman of the supervisory board sees the company on the right path to pick up on the growth before the corona pandemic.
To ZF’s address, Mangold said: “Wabco was a strong competitor before and will certainly not get any weaker with ZF.” But Knorr-Bremse is not one of the ones with the takeover of the steering manufacturer Sheppard in the USA and the Hitachi division in Japan Postpone answer and will defend and expand the world market position.
More: A turning point at Knorr-Bremse – Jan Mrosik takes on the difficult legacy of the patriarch.