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Heinz Hermann Thiele to step down from the future Supervisory Board of Knorr-Bremse AG

November 09, 2015 [Knorr-Bremse Group]

Heinz Hermann Thiele, principal shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Knorr-Bremse AG, is to step down from the role of Chairman of the Supervisory Board and of the company’s Advisory Council in March of next year. After a total of 46 years working for Knorr-Bremse, 28 of them on the Executive Board and nine as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Thiele wants to dedicate more time to his private life and personal business interests. He will continue as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vossloh AG, Werdohl, until further notice.

  • Heinz Hermann Thiele. © Knorr-Bremse AG

  • Dr. Bernd Bohr.

Thiele’s designated successor is Dr. Bernd Bohr (59), who until 2013 was Chairman of the Automotive Group at Robert Bosch GmbH, responsible for the company’s worldwide automotive activities.

“After over 30 years at the helm of the Knorr-Bremse Group, and in view of the fact that I will turn 75 in a few months’ time, in future I want to dedicate more time to my private life and personal business interests,” said Heinz Hermann Thiele. “Needless to say, as shareholder of the Knorr-Bremse Group I will retain my close links to the company and will continue to be involved in all important and above all strategic decisions.”

On completing his studies of jurisprudence, Thiele joined Knorr-Bremse in 1969 as a legal specialist in the Patents department. In 1972 he took charge of the newly created Legal Affairs and Patents department. In 1975 he was made head of the Commercial Vehicle Brakes unit, and in 1979 joined the Executive Board with overall responsibility for Sales.

In September 1985, Heinz Hermann Thiele was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse and that same year acquired a majority shareholding in the Group. With the gradual acquisition of the outstanding shares, the Thiele family became sole owners of the company; a position they retain to this day. On April 1, 2007, Thiele stepped down as Chairman of the Executive Board in order to chair the Supervisory Board of Knorr-Bremse AG.

When he took over Knorr-Bremse in 1985, with 3,500 employees and sales of €254 million (€180 million of which in the field of braking systems), Thiele triggered a process of far-reaching structural change, focusing the company on its core competencies: braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles.

Heinz Hermann Thiele was quick to realize the importance of internationalization. Back in the early 1980s he established vital contacts in North and South America, as well as in growth markets including Japan, Russia, India and China, and set up companies there.

Today, Knorr-Bremse continues to benefit extensively from this early market penetration. Thiele oversaw the systematic expansion of the product portfolio and took the company forward from traditional component supplier to modern systems supplier. Today, Knorr-Bremse is the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles. The Group’s portfolio also includes automatic doors and entrance systems, HVAC systems, power conversion systems, and electrical components for rail vehicles.

Over the past decades, Knorr-Bremse has posted continuous growth in sales and earnings. In fiscal 2014, the company reported worldwide sales of €5.2 billion, which equates to an increase of 21% year-on-year. Knorr-Bremse employs some 25,000 people, more than 3,000 of them in development roles. 2015 will be another good year for Knorr-Bremse.

Heinz Hermann Thiele has already presented his designated successor as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and of the Advisory Council, Dr. Bernd Bohr, to the relevant bodies: “In Dr. Bohr we have succeeded in recruiting an exceptionally competent and experienced leading figure for Knorr-Bremse. With his education and professional background, Dr. Bohr can draw upon comprehensive technical expertise, above all in the fields of development and production. In key management roles at Robert Bosch GmbH, he acquired extensive experience of the regional markets of the world and is very well networked within our industry. Dr. Bohr is therefore exceptionally well qualified for the tasks that await him at Knorr-Bremse AG.”

Bernd Bohr was born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1956. He concluded his studies of Mechanical Engineering at Aachen University in 1983 with a doctorate in Engineering, gained with a dissertation on control engineering. Still in 1983 he joined Robert Bosch GmbH, and in 1986 became Head of Production Planning at the company’s Reutlingen plant. In 1993 he became Managing Director of Nippon ABS Ltd., Tokyo, where he took charge of automotive electronics operations in 1996 and from 1998 managed the development of the ABS and Brakes division. One year later he was appointed to the Management Board of Robert Bosch GmbH, with responsibility for the Diesel Systems division. From 2003 until he left the company on June 30, 2013, Dr. Bohr was chairman of the Automotive Group at Bosch, responsible for revenues of €31 billion or 60% of total Bosch Group sales, and for 177,000 employees. Dr. Bohr holds multiple directorships and acts as a consultant in the automotive sector.

 

Eva Doppler

Tel: +49 89 3547 1498
Fax: +49 89 4444 54193
e-Mail: eva.doppler@knorr-bremse.com

Knorr-Bremse AG
Moosacher Straße 80
80809 Munich
Germany

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Heinz Hermann Thiele. © Knorr-Bremse AG 


Dr. Bernd Bohr.