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Sebastian Mackensen will succeed Bernhard Kuhnt as president
& CEO for BMW of North America and head of BMW Group Region Americas.
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Stefan Kramer appointed executive vice president & CFO
for BMW of North America.
Woodcliff Lake, NJ - May 21, 2021… BMW of North
America today announced two new appointments within its executive
management team. Sebastian Mackensen will become
president & CEO for BMW of North America and head of BMW Group
Region Americas. Mackensen succeeds Bernhard Kuhnt
who, after four and a half successful years leading both the U.S
market and the overall Americas region, will return to headquarters in
Munich to head the German home market. In addition, Stefan
Kramer will join BMW of North America as executive vice
president & CFO. Kramer replaces Stefan Richmann
who will assume
the role of CEO for BMW Group Financial Services in the U.S. and
Region Americas. All appointments take effect September 1, 2021.
In his new position, Mackensen will manage all sales, marketing and
distribution activities for the BMW Group from Canada to Argentina, in
addition to serving as president & CEO for BMW of North America.
He reports directly to Pieter Nota, Member of the Board of Management
of BMW AG, Customer, Brands, Sales.
Mackensen joined the BMW Group in 2013 as the head of the MINI sales
organization globally before taking overall responsibility for the
British brand in 2015. He has successfully led the BMW and MINI
business – including the brand-owned dealerships - in Germany since
October 2018. Before joining the BMW Group, Mackensen was responsible
for the Americas region at another premium Auto Brand and spent
numerous years working for different premium car manufacturers in
Spain and the US. Through that, he gained valuable international sales
experience that he will leverage within his upcoming responsibilities.
Kuhnt joined the BMW Group in 2015 following several international
leadership positions in the premium automotive segment – both in the
dealer network and also on the brand side. Kuhnt initially managed
the global BMW Group importers network comprising over 80 markets
before taking responsibility for the markets in North and South
America in March 2017. Following four and a half successful years, he
will return to Germany to lead the BMW Group’s home market.
“With Bernhard Kuhnt and Sebastian Mackensen, we witness two
accomplished sales experts exchange the responsibility for Germany and
the Americas,” said Pieter Nota, Member of the Board of Management of
BMW AG, Customer, Brands, Sales. “Both Bernhard and Sebastian have
demonstrated—especially in the last year—that they are adept at
leading in a dynamic and volatile environment, overcoming challenges
to secure a successful result in their respective regions. The
positive sales development and strong collaboration with the dealer
networks in both regions underscores the excellent performance of
Sebastian and Bernhard. As each leader takes the helm with their
extensive experience and specific talents, they will set new impulses
and I am convinced that we will see a continued positive development
of the BMW Group in each region.”
Under his appointment as executive vice president & CFO, Stefan
Kramer will join the BMW of North America executive board and lead
financial operations for the company, reporting directly to Sebastian
Mackensen. Specific responsibilities include overseeing finance &
controlling, risk management, treasury, payroll, procurement,
information technology, taxes, and facility management.
With a career spanning over 25 years, Kramer holds international
business experience in various financial leadership positions both in
Germany and in the U.S. His is currently serving as CFO of BMW Group
Financial Services in the U.S. Kramer began his career at PwC in 1996
where most of his work focused on finance projects in the
telecommunication and automotive industry. In 2005, he joined the BMW
Group as an in-house consultant responsible for the organizational
development of the global finance department. Five years later, Kramer
joined the BMW Group Financial Services division where he headed up
various headquarter teams, focused on topics such as global cost,
financial planning and controlling.
# # #
BMW Group in America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since
1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in
2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include
marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW
brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy
based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley, and
various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing
Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of
competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7
Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is
represented in the U.S. through networks of 349 BMW passenger car and
BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 116
MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW
(US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North
America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Online: www.bmwgroup.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview
Google+: http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com
Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its
products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com, www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.
