Written by / Zhang Linyu
Edit/ Wong Tai Lu
Design / Zhao Haoran
"We now have a lot of internal processes, things are not complicated, but it is a special energy to go through the process. Some of the work of the two teams of BMW Brilliance and BMW China now overlap. Next year, the stock ratio will open, how to integrate between the two teams, there is a lot of uncertainty inside. At the end of 2021, an employee of BMW Brilliance said this to the automotive business review reporter.
In fact, since the departure of Yang Meihong, former vice president of public relations and corporate social responsibility of BMW Brilliance in May 2021, her position has not recruited new people, and this business is concurrently held by Wei Lande, president and CEO of BMW Brilliance.
Just after the Spring Festival in 2022, bmw group officials announced that bmw brilliance's new joint venture contract came into effect, which means that from February 11, 2022, bmw brilliance's shares will be changed to 75%, and brilliance's share ratio will be reduced from the original 50% to 25%. The new contract extends the validity of the joint venture until 2040.
Therefore, how BMW Brilliance and BMW China will integrate various functional departments is an important thing on the agenda of both parties.
On February 25, BMW Brilliance's Board of Directors announced that, effective April 1, 2022, Dr. Hexuan Dai, senior vice president of technology and production of the company, will be elected to the company. Franz Decker will succeed Dr. Johann Wieland as President and CEO of BMW Brilliance, and Robert Kuessel, currently director of the Dadong plant, will take over as Senior Vice President of Technology and Production from April 1, 2022. Wei Lander will return to Germany after his term of office.
This personnel change happened at the time of the company's equity change, which inevitably led to speculation.
Dai Hexuan succeeded Wei Lande
Wei Lander took up his position as President and CEO of BMW Brilliance on October 1, 2016, when he succeeded Anton Heiss. Heyssen, the shortest-serving CEO in BMW Brilliance's history, took office on December 1, 2015, ending at the end of September of the following year.
Wei Lander graduated from the University of Regensburg in Germany in 1989 and joined the BMW Group after completing his doctorate. Earlier in his career, he was responsible for financial control, sales and price planning, corporate strategic planning, and MINI projects in the United States.
In 1999, he became General Manager of Retail for the U.S. Market, Vice President of Sales and Strategic Planning for International Key Accounts since 2000, and Senior Vice President of Financial Control, Engine Supply Chain and Indirect Procurement for the BMW Group since 2005.
His most recent public interview was at a supply chain visit organized by BMW Brilliance in late 2021. At that time, he was about to return to Germany for Christmas, and the overall sales of BMW in China in 2021 had surpassed Mercedes-Benz, and the whole atmosphere of the scene was relatively relaxed.
Dai Hexuan, who succeeded Wei Lander, joined BMW Brilliance in September 2016 as Vice President of Strategy and Logistics and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Technology and Production in January 2020. When the industry's core production is facing uncertainty throughout 2021, Dai Hexuan may be one of the heroes who ensured the production of the factory, and he was also responsible for and successfully built the new tiexi plant and the upgrading project of the Dadong factory.
Dai Hexuan was replaced by Kunshuo, who joined the BMW Group in 2000 as the director of BMW Brilliance's Dadong plant, and previously served as the director of the Tiexi plant.
BMW Brilliance's one-handed tradition
Since its establishment in 2003, BMW Brilliance has experienced a total of 7 presidents and CEOs, while there are only 4 leaders corresponding to BMW China, and the frequency of transfers of BMW Brilliance senior management is much greater than that of BMW China.
Wei Lande has been in office for less than 6 years, which is not short compared to his predecessors, and he may be second only to Olaf Kastner. Kang Siyuan is more special, he is currently the only executive who has not only been the leader of BMW Brilliance, but also continued to be the number one of BMW China, and he has served in China for a total of 9 years, basically comparable to Christoph Stark of that year.
Kang Siyuan's tenure at BMW Brilliance lasted from 2009 to 2015, and then in BMW China until 2018, which was the most vigorous stage of China's automotive development. In a sense, he has the right time and place.
As can be seen from the previous lists, the president and CEO of BMW Brilliance generally has relevant experience in production, procurement and manufacturing.
Before 2009, the term of office of BMW Brilliance's top brace generally did not exceed two years, from the earliest Heinz. Jogan. Heinz Jorgen Pressler, Eberhard Schrempf to Alfred Rupp, who left office on the grounds of repatriation to Germany and other personnel arrangements.
Heyssen was the shortest-serving, less than a year old, and was a sudden personnel change at the time. However, it is worth noting that Haisen was promoted from the position of senior vice president of technology and production, and several presidents and CEOs of BMW Brilliance have come from this position, including Dai Hexuan this time.
In a sense, is it understandable that this is a preparatory position for the CEO of BMW Brilliance?
In contrast, the background of bmw china's president and CEO selection is not necessarily related to manufacturing. Sternker, who has made important contributions to BMW's development in China, has a wealth of experience in management and branding, and a deep understanding of cross-culture, especially Chinese culture. He has been in China for nearly 10 years, the longest-serving CEO to date.
The other three, Karsten Engel, had a background in business and was transferred back to China before his term of office expired. Kang Siyuan has a financial background and a successful tenure in China, while Gao Le is a marketing background, starting in 2015 as senior vice president of marketing at BMW Brilliance, a position that belonged to Daniel Kirchert a few years earlier.
In 2021, BMW sold 846,200 vehicles in China, including the MINI brand, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year, ranking first in the BBA list. In 2022, BMW is bound to expect more performance, especially in new energy models.
When the new equity takes effect, there may be more personnel changes in bmw's organization in China in the future.
The following are the past presidents and CEOs of BMW Brilliance and BMW China: