Photo caption: Dirk Damaschke (left) and Marc Siemssen
After more than 28 years at the helm, MEYLE AG majority shareholder Karl Gaertner is stepping down from the company’s executive board.
As of Sept. 1, board members Dirk Damaschke and Marc Siemssen are now managing the Hamburg, Germany-based parts manufacturer.
Gaertner is leaving operational management entirely in the experienced hands of his former board colleagues, Damaschke and Siemssen, who have been involved in company management and members of the executive board for several years now.
Gaertner will remain chairman of the executive board of the Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG holding company, which is wholly owned by the family, and thus continue to support MEYLE with his expertise. The long-term transition is part of a generational change designed to prepare the company for the future.
In addition, Gaertner’s daughter, Lisa Gaertner, has joined the holding company’s supervisory board as a family representative.
“For nearly three decades, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many dedicated colleagues and help transform MEYLE into an internationally successful company that is well known among our customers worldwide for its innovation and quality. And now the time has come for me to pass on the torch,” Karl Gaertner said. “We, the owner family, plan to hand over MEYLE as a successful and internationally competitive company to the next generation. I’m delighted that Lisa Gaertner is assuming a new level of responsibility at the holding company and that we have found just the right team in Dirk Damaschke and Marc Siemssen to continue the brand’s success story.”
Siemssen called Gaertner “a visionary entrepreneur who has transformed MEYLE into the innovative, global company and powerful brand that we are today.”
“We’re assuming responsibility for the company in an exciting era of change that offers both challenges and opportunities for the entire automotive industry,” Siemssen asserted.
Damaschke added: “We’re starting from a strong position and have a wonderful team behind us. We feel like we’re in the best position to advance key issues like electric mobility, sustainability and international growth with full force.”
