Bosch has extended the contract of its Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hartung, ensuring his continued leadership of the German automotive supplier. The company confirmed the extension but declined to provide details on the duration, citing its status as a privately held limited liability company (GmbH) not bound by the disclosure requirements of a listed corporation.
A spokesperson at Bosch’s headquarters in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, said Hartung’s employment contract had been renewed “some time ago.” While the company did not reveal further information, Germany’s Handelsblatt reported that the extension could last until 2031, effectively giving Hartung a decade-long tenure at the helm, similar to his three predecessors.
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Hartung became chairman of Bosch’s board of management in January 2022, following nearly two decades with the company. He joined Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH in 2004 and became a member of Robert Bosch GmbH’s board in 2013, overseeing energy, building, and industrial technologies. Before his appointment as CEO, he led Bosch’s Mobility Solutions division from 2019 to 2022.
The contract renewal comes at a challenging time for Bosch and the broader automotive supply industry. Global vehicle production has stagnated, while returns on major investments in emerging technologies such as autonomous driving, electromobility, and fuel cells have been slower than anticipated. In September, Bosch announced additional cost-cutting measures, including 13,000 job reductions—on top of the 9,000 previously disclosed—many of which will affect its German operations.
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Despite these difficulties, the extension of Hartung’s contract is widely seen as a vote of confidence from Bosch’s supervisory board. Under Hartung and Mobility Managing Director Markus Heyn, the company has been rethinking vehicle development and supplier roles in a changing mobility landscape. “Both manufacturers and suppliers need to think much more holistically,” Heyn said in a recent interview with electrive, emphasizing a shift away from traditional divisions of responsibility.
In 2024, Bosch’s supplier division recorded a 0.7 percent decline in sales, totaling €55.8 billion. However, the company expects a modest recovery this year, projecting growth of just under two percent. The Mobility Solutions business remains Bosch’s largest segment, accounting for over 60 percent of total group revenue.
Source: handelsblatt.com, wiwo.de