REITHOFER APPOINTED NEW BMW CEO
BMW AG has appointed Norbert Reithofer as its next CEO. The move takes effect on September 1, and Reithofer will succeed Helmut Panke, whose contract expires in May 2007. Panke has headed the company since 2002. Dr Reithofer joined BMW AG in 1987 and has been a member of its board of management since 2000. Prior to that, he was head of South Africa's Rosslyn plant and also headed the Spartanburg plant in the USA.

PISCHETSRIEDER CONTINUES AT HELM OF VW GROUP
After months of speculation the VW Group's board gave Bernd Pichetsrieder a contract for a further five years on May 2. Pischetsrieder negotiated large concessions to help the company improve its competitiveness. It now seems that much of the restructuring - including job cuts - will be delayed and the company will no longer sell its component manufacturing plants as originally planned. The company is also seeking a change in the working week from 28,5 hours to 35 hours in its manufacturing operations to improve productivity.

Phebus FMCSA's new Finance VP
Rob Phebus has been appointed vice president of finance for Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. After joining Ford in 1976 as a supervisor in the Warranty Analysis department, Phebus progressed through the ranks to hold several positions within the Business Development, Financial Forecasting and Strategic Planning divisions. He was appointed the manager of Ford's US Revenue in 1996, before being offered the position of financial director for Ford Brazil. Most recently, he occupied the same position in Taiwan.

Van Olst makes way for Tsiknas
Fritz van Olst, DaimlerChrysler SA management board member for sales and marketing, will be joining retail group Sandown Motor Holdings from October. After joining the company, known then as United Car and Diesel Distributors in 1974, Van Olst has held a variety of positions in the vehicle manufacturing, logistics, IT, passenger and commercial car sales, and marketing departments.

Van Olst will be replaced by Konstantin Tsiknas who joins the local division from DaimlerChrysler Malaysia. Tsiknas joined DaimlerChrysler in 1989 at its Gaggenau manufacturing plant in Germany, where he gained experience in Unimog production and exports. He moved to the global headquarters in Stuttgart in 1995, before moving to the Hellas office in 1998. Tsiknas had been responsible for the sales and marketing activities from the Tokyo bureau, before joining the Malaysian office.

Marchi heads up Pirelli SA
Pirelli Tyre SA is experiencing a change of guard - Alessandro Marchi has joined as managing director following Gianluca Lionetto's reassignment to Pirelli Asia.

Lionetto has been in the employ of Pirelli S.p.a for seven years, and has been based in South Africa since 2003 when he was appointed as marketing manager. In 2005, he was announced as the replacement to outgoing MD Ashley Cooper, and has now been seconded to head up Pirelli Asia.

Meanwhile, Lionetto's replacement, Marchi, has worked at Pirelli for six years where he progressed through the ranks to be appointed European Fleet Manager before his most recent promotion.