ZIPSE
Oliver

• 1. Early life and education
• 2. Career

Oliver Zipse is a German manager who has been serving as Chairman of the Board of Management (CEO) of BMW since 16 August 2019.

Early life and education

Zipse graduated from high school in Bensheim in 1983. He studied computer science and mathematics at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City from 1983 to 1985 without obtaining a degree. In 1985 he switched to mechanical engineering at the Technische Universität Darmstadt and graduated in 1991 with a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1999 he also graduated from the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA Program which is a joint MBA degree from Kellogg School of Management, USA and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany.

Career

Zipse has spent his entire professional life at BMW AG. He joined the company in 1991 as a trainee in development, technical planning and production. From 1992 to 1994, he worked as a project engineer in technology development. From 1994 to 2006, he held various leadership positions in development, production and production planning in Munich and South Africa. From 2007 to 2008 he was the plant manager at the Mini-plant Oxford. From 2009 to 2012, he was head of technical planning before becoming head of group planning and production strategy from 2012 to May 2015.

On May 13, 2015, he was appointed to the board of management of BMW AG, succeeding former chairman Harald Krüger; Zipse moved up to that position from a management role in product strategy and running the Mini assembly plant in England. His primary responsibility in that board role was for production. One news report summarized his achievement as: "Under Zipse's watch, BMW's efficient production network, which he expanded in Hungary, China and the U.S., has helped the company deliver industry-leading profit margins despite its relatively small scale".

On July 18, 2019, Zipse was appointed chairman of the Board (CEO), effective 16 August 2019. He was described by Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the supervisory board, as "a decisive strategic and analytical leader".