Franz-Josef Paefgen New Chairman Of The ZF Supervisory Board - Dr. Stefan Sommer Leaves The Company

Until a successor is appointed for summer, his deputy, CFO Dr. Konstantin Sauer (58), interim also the duties of the CEO.

Dr. Konstantin Sauer is interim head of the ZF group

"We thank Dr. Sommer for his many years of successful work for the company. In his five years at the helm of the ZF Group, Dr. Stefan Sommer actively develops the company further,”acknowledges the ZF Supervisory Board Chairman Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen's summer work. Paefgen: "The supervisory board will shortly appoint a successor. Until then, the deputy chairman Dr. Konstantin Sauer interim head of the ZF Group. As a member of the board for finance, IT and M&A activities at ZF, he is a guarantee of stability and enjoys our full trust."

Challenges of the automotive industry accepted

The proven automotive expert Paefgen has been a member of the committee since 2008. “ZF has successfully taken on the challenges of the automotive industry with a long-term strategy and has seen excellent development in recent years. We want to continue on this course,”says Paefgen.

"The shareholders welcome the appointment of Dr. Paefgen with his proven expertise at the top of the control committee,”explain the Mayor of the City of Friedrichshafen, Andreas Brand, as representative of the Zeppelin Foundation and Joachim Meinecke as representative of the Ulderup Foundation.

Concentration on the upcoming transformation process in the automotive industry

Industry expert Paefgen has held various management positions in the automotive industry since 1976. He was a member of the Board of Management of Audi AG from 1995 to 2002, and has been Chairman of the Board since 1997. From March 2002, he was responsible for the Bentley brand and, as general representative of Volkswagen AG, also for the group research and the motorsport activities of the Volkswagen group. From 2003 to 2005 Paefgen headed Bugatti Engineering GmbH. From 2007 until his retirement in 2011, he was President of Bugatti Automobiles SAS and Bugatti International SA

"It is important that calm returns now and that we concentrate on business and the upcoming transformation process in the automotive industry," says Paefgen. "As chairman of the supervisory board, I would like to make my contribution." (Jup)