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Bernd Pischetsrieder

 

 
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Bernd Pischetsrieder (born 15 February 1948) is a German automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
 engineer and manager.

He was born in Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
, Bavaria
Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich

Technische Universit?t M?nchen is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan.TUM is among the highest acclaimed universities in Germany, producing several Nobel Laureates including Gerhard Ertl who in 2007 received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry....
 from 1968 to 1972. He earned the degree of "Diplom Ingenieur", and began his career at BMW
BMW

, is an independent German automotive industry founded in 1916. It also produces BMW Motorrad, is the owner of the MINI brand and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars....
 in 1973 as a Production Planning Engineer. He was promoted to become chairman of the board of BMW from 1993 through 1999. He was also chairman of the Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen AG)
Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen Group, or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft , is a German automotive industry group, currently the automotive industry#World's largest vehicle manufacturing groups , and the largest in Europe....
 from 2002 to 2006, and chairman of Scania AB until 2007.

During his time as head of BMW, Pischetsrieder was known for solidifying the company's position as a leader in the luxury car market with a solid sporting and engineering reputation.






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Bernd Pischetsrieder (born 15 February 1948) is a German automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
 engineer and manager.

He was born in Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
, Bavaria
Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich

Technische Universit?t M?nchen is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan.TUM is among the highest acclaimed universities in Germany, producing several Nobel Laureates including Gerhard Ertl who in 2007 received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry....
 from 1968 to 1972. He earned the degree of "Diplom Ingenieur", and began his career at BMW
BMW

, is an independent German automotive industry founded in 1916. It also produces BMW Motorrad, is the owner of the MINI brand and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars....
 in 1973 as a Production Planning Engineer. He was promoted to become chairman of the board of BMW from 1993 through 1999. He was also chairman of the Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen AG)
Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen Group, or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft , is a German automotive industry group, currently the automotive industry#World's largest vehicle manufacturing groups , and the largest in Europe....
 from 2002 to 2006, and chairman of Scania AB until 2007.

During his time as head of BMW, Pischetsrieder was known for solidifying the company's position as a leader in the luxury car market with a solid sporting and engineering reputation. His decision in 1994 to purchase Rover Group
Rover (car)

The Rover Company was a British automobile manufacturing company originally founded as Starley & Sutton Co. of Coventry in 1878. After developing the template for the modern bicycle with its Rover Safety Bicycle of 1885, the company moved into the automotive industry....
 from British Aerospace
British Aerospace

British Aerospace was a United Kingdom aircraft manufacturer, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. In 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc to form BAE Systems....
 was widely regarded as a failure. Although this brought the valuable Mini
Mini

The Mini is a small Automobile that was produced by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered an icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers....
 and Land Rover
Land Rover

Land Rover is an all-terrain vehicle and Multi Purpose Vehicle manufacturer, based in Solihull, West Midlands , England, now operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business owned by Tata Motors of India....
 marques into BMW ownership, the Rover passenger car operation drained the company's coffers. Rover was sold off in 2000, with Ford
Ford Motor Company

The Ford Motor Company is an United States multinational corporation and the world's List of automobile manufacturers#World Motor Vehicle Production by Manufacturer based on worldwide vehicle sales, following Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen Group....
 taking on Land Rover, and the revived Mini remaining at BMW. A more notable achievement was the assumption of the Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited

Rolls-Royce Limited was a United Kingdom automobile and, from 1914, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls on 15 March 1906 and was the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
 marque
Marque

A marque is a brand name, especially in the automobile industry. For example, Chevrolet and Pontiac are marques of their maker, General Motors Corporation ....
, a deal which left rival Volkswagen
Volkswagen

Volkswagen Passenger Cars, also known as VW, is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany and is the original as well as the largest brand by sales volume within the Volkswagen Group....
 manager, Ferdinand Piëch
Ferdinand Piëch

Ferdinand Karl Pi?ch is a German automobile engineer and manager. He is a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, and son of Louise Pi?ch .Pi?ch was the winner of the award of Car Executive of the Century in 1999....
, with only the Bentley
Bentley

Bentley Motors Limited is an English manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley . Mr. Bentley had been previously known for his range of Rotary engine aircraft engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel....
 marque, and the Crewe
Crewe

Crewe is a town in Cheshire, England. It is the largest town in the borough of Crewe and Nantwich, in which it is the only unparished area. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683....
 factory.

On 16 April 2002, Pischetsrieder succeeded Piëch as chairman of Volkswagen AG. At Volkswagen, he directed Bugatti Automobiles SAS
Bugatti Automobiles SAS

Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. is an automobile manufacturer located in the French town of Molsheim, Alsace, France. It is owned by Volkswagen Group as a subsidiary of Volkswagen France....
 to reengineer the Bugatti Veyron 16.4
Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine design Grand tourer car produced by Volkswagen Group subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS and was introduced in 2005 as the fastest production car in the world....
, delaying an expected launch. He continued moving the Audi
Audi

AUDI AG, is a Germany car manufacturer which produces cars under the Audi brand, . The name Audi is based on a latin translation of the last name of the founder August "Horch", itself the German word for ?hear." Another explanation for the origin of the name is as an acronym for ?Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt."...
 and Volkswagen
Volkswagen

Volkswagen Passenger Cars, also known as VW, is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany and is the original as well as the largest brand by sales volume within the Volkswagen Group....
 marques upmarket to some controversy.

He is known to be an enthusiastic driver, and once wrote off a silver McLaren F1
McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by Gordon Murray and McLaren Automotive. On March 31, 1998, it set the record for the fastest production car in the world, 240.1 mph , which it held until the introduction of the Bugatti Veyron in 2005....
 exotic sports car. There were only 64 street legal versions of the McLaren manufactured.

In a surprise announcement on 7 November 2006, it was revealed that Pischetsrieder would be stepping down from the top job at Volkswagen AG on 31 December that year. He was to be replaced by Dr Martin Winterkorn
Martin Winterkorn

Professor Dr. Martin Winterkorn is the Chairman of the Volkswagen Group, and Scania . He succeeded Bernd Pischetsrieder as Chairman of Volkswagen AG on 1 January 2007....
, who was head of the Audi division.

Family connection

Sir Alec Issigonis
Alec Issigonis

Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Royal Society was a Greece-United Kingdom designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959....
, the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 car designer and engineer who created the Morris Minor
Morris Minor

The Morris Minor was a popular British motor car aimed at the family market. It was the work of a team led by Alec Issigonis, who would go on to design the successful Mini....
 and the Mini
Mini

The Mini is a small Automobile that was produced by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered an icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers....
, was a first cousin once removed of Pischetsrieder.