Title: Chairman of the board of management, BMW AG.
Age: 58 on Tuesday.
Family: Married.
Career: After an apprenticeship as a machine fitter he studied production technology and went on to do his doctoral thesis at the Technical University in Berlin. Professor at Munich Technical University until he joined the board of BMW in 1993, responsible for engineering and production. Became chairman of BMW in February 1999.
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Why he is in the news: In Dublin on Monday as the guest of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland to deliver the McLaughlin Lecture. He will address the topic: "The Future of the Automobile".
