Mandatory: Elected till 2023, Deputy Chairman since 2021, and Supervisory Board Member since 2018.
- Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BASF SE starting in 2020
- Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at BASF SE from 2011 to 2018
- 2003–2011: CFO of BASF AG (BASF SE since 2008), member of the board of executive directors, and since 2007 also chairman and CEO of BASF Corporation, USA
- President of Logistics and Information Services at BASF AG from 2000 to 2002
- CFO of the USA’s BASF Corporation from 1998 to 2000
- Managing Director of Robert Bosch Ltd. in Brazil from 1996 to 1998
- Senior Vice President of Finance and Accounting at Robert Bosch GmbH from 1992 until 1996
- From 1991 to 1992, I served as the Director of Planning and Controlling for Engineering Plastics at BASF AG as the Head of Technology.
- From 1985 until 1991, BASF AG’s finance division performed a variety of tasks.
- studied business administration at Pennsylvania State University and universities in Munster and Cologne, Germany.
In This Article...
As Knudt Flor retires, Engelhorn will be in charge of the South Carolina plant.
S.C.’s Spartanburg The next president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing is Dr. Robert Engelhorn. Knudt Flor, who has retired from the firm, handed over control of the facility to Engelhorn on Wednesday in a discreet ceremony at the BMW Zentrum.
According to Engelhorn, “Plant Spartanburg has been a crucial component of BMW’s global production network for decades, and the plant’s impact is wide-ranging.” Their performance, both in terms of quality and output, is astounding, and I am thrilled to be in charge of this exceptional team.
Engelhorn joined the BMW Group in 2011 and worked in a variety of capacities in the German factories in Munich and Regensburg. He relocated to the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture in China in 2016 and took over as the division’s head of technology and production for the Dadong and Tiexi factories. Engelhorn assumed control of BMW Group Plant Munich in 2018, where he set up the facility to produce the all-electric BMW i4.
“Plant Spartanburg is the ideal fit for Robert. He has extensive technical knowledge and extensive worldwide experience, particularly in the production of electric vehicles “said Dr. Milan Nedeljkovic, a production-related member of BMW AG’s board of management. I have no doubt that he will successfully lead this plant towards a bright future.
Knudt Flor, who spent 33 years working for the BMW Group and nearly five years serving as president and CEO of the BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, is being succeeded by Engelhorn. He has been the Spartanburg plant’s president for the second-longest period of time.
With a daily production rate of around 1,500 automobiles, BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is the largest BMW Group facility in the world. More than two-thirds of the models produced by the South Carolina firm are exported to 125 different countries. It has been the largest value exporter from the United States for seven straight years. The model lineup consists of two plug-in hybrid electric X models, four Motorsport X models, and five of the best-selling BMW X vehicles. More than 11,000 people work at the factory, which has a production capacity of up to 450,000 vehicles.
CEO and President of BMW of North America, LLC
BMW of North America, LLC’s (BMW NA) President and CEO and Head of the BMW Group Region Americas is Sebastian Mackensen. In these capacities, Mackensen is in charge of all aspects of BMW Group operations for the BMW, MINI, and Motorrad brands in the United States.
Before taking on overall responsibility for the British brand in 2015, Mackensen started his career with the BMW Group in 2013 as the president of the global sales department for the MINI brand. Since October 2018, he has effectively run the BMW and MINI companies in Germany, including the factory-owned dealerships. Mackensen spent many years working for various premium automobile manufacturers in Spain and the US before joining the BMW Group. He was in charge of another premium auto brand’s Americas region at the time. The German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. has Mackensen on its board of directors.
Engelhorn, who has experience with electric vehicles, takes over as plant manager at BMW in Spartanburg.
BMW Manufacturing’s Plant Spartanburg’s new president and CEO is Robert Engelhorn. Knudt Flor, who announced his retirement in May, is succeeded by him.
According to a statement released on Thursday by Engelhorn, “Plant Spartanburg has been a crucial part of BMW’s global manufacturing network for decades, and the plant’s impact is far reaching.” Their performance, both in terms of quality and output, is astounding, and I am thrilled to be in charge of this exceptional team.
Engelhorn began working for the BMW Group in 2011 and has held a variety of positions in the Munich and Regensburg facilities in Germany.
He relocated to the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture in China in 2016 and oversaw the division in charge of technology and manufacturing for the Dadong and Tiexi factories.
Engelhorn was appointed head of the BMW Group Plant in Munich in 2018, where he oversaw the development of the all-electric BMW i4.
After 33 years in the BMW Group and almost five years serving as president and CEO of the BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, Flor retired.
The BMW X7, X3 M, X4 M, and X3 xDrive 30e were all introduced during his tenure as plant manager in Spartanburg, along with additional models for the BMW X3, X4, X5, X5 M, X6, and X6 M.
For the eighth consecutive year, Plant Spartanburg lead the country in automobile exports by value, according to a statement from BMW earlier this year.
Knudt Flor is replaced as president of BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg by Robert Engelthorn.
BMW Manufacturing in the US has a new president and CEO in Dr. Robert Engelthorn. He takes over for Knudt Flor, who left the company after 33 years and retired. He will be in charge of the BMW factory, which is anticipated to start producing a new model in the upcoming years.
The Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, the automaker’s largest assembly facility worldwide, is where BMW Manufacturing is headquartered. It is the largest vehicle exporter in the US, producing over 1,500 vehicles per day at typical production levels, of which two-thirds are exported to more than a hundred foreign markets.
Dr. Engelthorn joined BMW in 2011 and has since served in a variety of capacities at several BMW locations worldwide. Before joining the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture in China, where he oversaw the Technology and Production division for the Dadong and Tiexi factories, he held a number of key production positions in the Munich and Regensburg plants in Germany.
Returning to Germany in 2018, Dr. Engelthorn assumed his most recent position as director of the Munich factory, where he is in charge of planning the manufacture of the BMW i4 electric vehicle, which will be put together starting this autumn.
“Plant Spartanburg is the ideal fit for Robert. He has extensive technical knowledge and extensive worldwide experience, particularly in the production of electric vehicles “said Dr. Milan Nedeljkovic, a member of BMW’s executive board who oversees production. I have no doubt that he will successfully lead this plant towards a bright future.
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse recently stated that the automaker would reveal a completely new model for Spartanburg plant production before the end of 2021. He declared that it wouldn’t be a successor model.
BMW presently produces a variety of SUVs in Spartanburg, including hybrid versions of the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7. In 2019, the facility increased its capacity for producing hybrid batteries.
BMW started construction on a $20 million training facility at the facility earlier this year to instruct staff members in manufacturing procedures.
In December 2016, Knudt Flor transitioned from his position as senior vice-president of corporate quality located at the Munich headquarters of the BMW Group to that of president and CEO in Spartanburg.
Over the course of his lengthy employment with BMW, he held a variety of prominent positions, including senior vice-president and chief operations officer for manufacturing and procurement at BMW Brilliance in China.
Dr. Engelthorn will be replaced at the Munich facility by Peter Weber, who is currently in charge of the Oxford Mini plant and the Swindon pressings and body components plant, both in the UK.
Bernhard Kuhnt will be replaced as CEO of BMW of North America by Sebastian Mackensen.
After serving as CEO of BMW of North America for four years, Bernhard Kuhnt is returning to Germany to lead the domestic market. Sebastian Mackensen, a seasoned executive who held many positions at BMW Group, will take over as his successor. In addition to serving as president and CEO of BMW of North America, Mackensen will now oversee all sales, marketing, and distribution activities for the BMW Group from Canada to Argentina. Pieter Nota, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Customer, Brands, Sales, is his direct supervisor.
Mackensen began working for the BMW Group in 2013 as the global head of the MINI sales department. In 2015, he assumed general management of the British brand. During the Dakar Rally in Peru, we first met Mr. Mackensen at MINI. Following his time at MINI, Mackensen assumed leadership of the BMW and MINI businesses in Germany, including the brand-owned dealerships, in October 2018.
Sebastian Mackensen was born in Braunschweig and finished his education in 1995, earning a degree in business administration and economics. He successfully finished an international sales management development program with the sports car manufacturer Porsche in Stuttgart after earning his global MBA in Madrid and Los Angeles. Mackensen came to Audi AG in Ingolstadt in 2008, where he oversaw the sales division for the entire American region, which included five companies and more than twenty importers, after holding professional roles for the same firm in Spain and the USA.
Pieter Nota, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Customer, Brands, Sales, observed that Bernhard Kuhnt and Sebastian Mackensen exchanged the responsibility for Germany and the Americas. “Both Bernhard and Sebastian have proven that they are skilled at leading in a dynamic and unpredictable environment, overcoming obstacles to secure a successful outcome in their respective territories, notably in the past year. The good work of Sebastian and Bernhard is highlighted by the strong dealer networks’ coordination and favorable sales developments in both regions. I am confident that we will continue to see excellent development of the BMW Group in each region as each leader assumes the helm with their substantial knowledge and unique talents.”
As executive vice president & CFO, Stefan Kramer will also join BMW of North America. Stefan Richmann, who will take over as CEO of BMW Group Financial Services in the US and Region Americas, is replaced by Kramer. On September 1, 2021, all appointments become official.