Jürgen Otto will join the management board of the DRÄXLMAIER Group effective January 1, 2019, and will take over the CEO position from Fritz Dräxlmaier.
Fritz Dräxlmaier, who currently holds both the CEO and chairman of the executive board position, will continue to serve as chairman. He will also remain associated with the company as shareholder representative. With this change, Fritz Dräxlmaier has taken another important strategic step toward a sustainable development of the management of the DRÄXLMAIER Group.
Fritz Dräxlmaier has been working in the family business for more than 45 years. He first gained management experience right after completing his studies in the late 1970s by managing the expansion to North America with a site in Niagara Falls, Canada. Ten years later. he assumed overall management from his father, Fritz Dräxlmaier Sr.
In his position as CEO, Fritz Dräxlmaier was able to improve the total performance of the DRÄXLMAIER Group to more than 4 billion euro (2017). At that time, the company developed through organic growth without acquisitions. The group is one of the fastest- growing, most sustainable companies in Europe, which is evidenced by the award given by the media group Welt and Accenture. “DRÄXLMAIER is a company that not everyone knows, but that shows enormously sustainable growth that makes DRÄXLMAIER one of the hidden champions in Germany,” said Thomas Exner, jury member and head of the economy department of the Welt Group, in his laudatory speech.
Fritz Dräxlmaier has shaped the company for more than 40 years like nobody else. He has set the course for global expansion by implementing a premium strategy and promoting innovation and technological trends in the automotive sector, and creating a global production and logistics network as part of the company’s development. He has led the DRÄXLMAIER Group to its present success with entrepreneurial determination and foresight.
As CEO, he made important decisions, such as setting up a technology center at the corporate headquarters in Vilsbiburg, Germany, and focusing on electric mobility as early as 10 years ago. The decision to focus on e-mobility was the strategic basis for receiving an order from Porsche to develop and manufacture the complete battery system for its first purely electrically-powered vehicle.
Jürgen Otto will be the first non-family member in history to assume overall responsibility and leadership of the company, which has been run by only two generations since it was founded 60 years ago in 1958.
“With Jürgen Otto, I have been able to acquire a very experienced, successful manager from the automotive supply industry for our company, said Fritz Dräxlmaier commented on the change at the operational top of the company. “As a long-time CEO can look back on an impressive record in his 12-year appointment as the CEO of Brose.”
Jürgen Otto has previously worked for Brose for 27 years and held various management positions in the areas of production, development and sales before being named CEO of the family-owned automotive supplier.
In the DRÄXLMAIER Group, Jürgen Otto will lead the executive board as the CEO. “In addition to the technical expertise of Jürgen Otto, the fact that he is familiar with the specific framework conditions and the culture of family-owned companies deserves special mention,” said Fritz Dräxlmaier, commenting on the prior successes of the new CEO. “He has shown that he can achieve excellent performance in such an environment.”
Jürgen Otto said about his decision to join DRÄXLMAIER: “We largely agree on the personal and professional goals and values. Together with Fritz Dräxlmaier, I want to shape the future of the DRÄXLMAIER Group.
“With its product portfolio, DRÄXLMAIER is very well-prepared for the changes in the automotive industry. Therefore, I am convinced that we will be successful in implementing the planned quantitative and qualitative growth.”
Jürgen Otto (left) and Fritz Dräxlmaier
