A row is brewing over the future leadership of BMW.
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Current CEO Helmut Panke is due to stand down when he reaches his 60th birthday soon, as required by BMW company rules. This would mean resigning at the 2007 annual meeting, but Der Spiegel magazine reported earlier this year that, given the success the company has had under his leadership, the supervisory board is considering making an exception for Panke and extending his contract, possibly until 2010.
Two of Panke’s possible successors have, however, spoken out uncharacteristically against this and said that the rules should be adhered to. They are head of production, Norbert Reithofer, and finance director, Stefan Kreise.
Reithofer reportedly told journalists that if there is a rule it should be adhered to, according to dpa-AFX news. Krause was not quite so forthright. He said that a rule like this is not made of stone, but he added that if a rule is broken too often, it ceases to have any meaning.
According to a report in Der Spiegel, the comments by the two executives have angered the BMW supervisory board, which feels it has now been put under unnecessary pressure.
dpa-AFX news noted that the subject of extending Panke’s contract is not on the agenda for the next supervisory board meeting scheduled for 23 July.
