Norbert Reithofer

Norbert Reithofer (born 1956 in Penzberg, then West Germany) is a German manager who led BMW as chairman of its board of management from 2006 to 2015 and then chaired its supervisory board until 2025. He trained as a mechanical engineer in Munich, took a doctorate at the Technical University of Munich in engineering and business administration, and joined BMW in 1987 in maintenance planning. His career ran through body-in-white production, a post as technical director of BMW South Africa and the presidency of the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, before he joined the board of management in 2000 with responsibility for production. As chief executive he pushed BMW into lower price categories, introduced a line of electric cars, cut production early enough to avoid the worst of the 2008 financial crisis, and led the company to record profits by selling luxury cars and large SUVs, notably in China. His move straight from chief executive to supervisory board chair drew criticism because it left no cooling-off period.