Eberhard von Kuenheim
Eberhard von Kuenheim ( born October 2, 1928 in Juditten in East Prussia ) is a German manager and was from 1970 to 1993 Chairman of the Board of BMW AG.
Life
Eberhard von Kuenheim was born the son of East Prussian Entailed Estate - landowner, who entertained a great Trakehner stud in 1928 in Juditten (today Poland at Bartenstein ). The family comes from the Alsatian nobility, but it is up to the end of the 13th century immigrant to East Prussia branch extinct.
Kuenheim studied until 1954 mechanical engineering at the former Technical University of Stuttgart, where he joined the Corps Teutonia joined. After studying worked by the machine tool manufacturer Kuenheim Max Müller in Hanover (now Gildemeister AG). In 1965, Kuenheim a job as a " stick man for technical questions " at the Quandt group. In this role, he joined in 1969 by the industry works Karlsruhe ( IWKA ) to BMW.
To January 1, 1970 it the BMW Herbert Quandt major shareholder transferred the chairmanship of BMW AG at that time about 20,000 employees and a turnover of DM 1 billion. In 1972 he introduced the 5 series, including a new, going back to the former BMW marketing board member Bob A. Lutz type system, which is still valid today.
The building, designed by the Viennese architect Karl Schwanzer BMW Headquarters building ( "BMW four-cylinder " ) next to Munich's Olympic Site in 1973 based.
At the end of his tenure as CEO on 13 May 1993, the BMW AG 70,000 employees and a turnover of DM 30 billion. New production facilities were in Germany ( Regensburg, Spandau), Austria, South Africa and originated in the United States.
After Pischetsrieder took over in 1993 as CEO at BMW AG, Kuenheim was until 1999 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG. In 2000, the BMW AG established in his honor the Eberhard von Kuenheim a Foundation whose board of trustees he chaired until 2010. Since the handover of the Presidency to Bolko of Oetinger Kuenheim has held the honorary chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Kuenheim has been criticized in the wake of the Rover fiasco because he had as chairman does not prevent a crisis of leadership. After his retirement as CEO he had not Reitzle, but Pischetsrieder used as a successor in the management team. While Reitzle wanted to limit the rover billions in losses by radical cuts, this was prevented by the more moderate Pischetsrieder. In a spectacular Supervisory Board meeting on 5 February 1999, the two boards were recalled. Reitzle's appointment as Chairman, failed because of the resistance of the workers' representatives, so that a complete surprise Joachim Milberg took over as CEO of BMW AG. Reitzle is now CEO of Linde AG and was elected in 2007 in a survey conducted by the consulting firm Marketing Corporation under 1,000 managers as the top executive of Germany with the highest reputation.
Private
With his wife, Theda (nee Camp by Schoenberg ) has two of Kuenheim sons and daughter Alexandra. His son Hendrik von Kuenheim ( born in 1959 ), a skilled Hotel Kaufmann, conducted from 2008 to 2012, the motorcycle division of BMW. Kuenheim is a cousin of Journalists ( TIME ) Haug of Kuenheim.
Honors
From Kuenheim is a member of the Automotive Hall of Fame (since 2004 ), the European Automotive Hall of Fame (since 2006) and the Business Hall of Fame ( Manager Magazine, since 1993).
He holds honorary doctorates from the Technical University of Munich and the Technical University of Clausthal.
The building of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Technical University of Munich on the TU campus in Garching near Munich, wearing his honor the name " Eberhard von Kuenheim construction ." From Kuenheim also is Honorary Senator (1982) and winner of the Golden Ring of Honour ( 2008) Technical University of Munich.
Him the Great Cross of Merit with Star and Sash of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Honorary Golden Coin of the City of Munich and the 1987 Golden medal citizens of Regensburg was awarded in 1993.
Since 1998 Kuenheim of Honorary President of the vbw - Bavarian Business Association eV