Conti ready to appoint new automotive systems chief

Hanover, Germany-Continental AG is ready to appoint Dr Karl-Thomas Neumann to succeed Dr Wolfgang Ziebart as head of Continental Automotive Systems (CAS) division, as soon as he is available.

Neumann, currently head of the Electrics and Electronics unit of the Volkswagen group of brands and responsible for group-wide electronic modules, will lead a Continental group with a workforce of just under 20 000, and sales of over Euro4600 million in 2003.

Ziebart is leaving the company 31 Aug to become ceo at Infineon AG.

Neumann, who has a doctorate in electrical engineering, joined Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg, in 1999 after spells at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits and Systems (1989-1993), and at Motorola GmbH (1993-1999) both in Munich and in Austin/Texas.

Continental said, “His superb electronics background”-especially in the high-growth mechatronics segment-“will be of significance for the challenge facing him at Continental Automotive Systems of bringing together the two fields of active and passive safety components.”