The Supervisory Board of Continental AG appointed Roland Welzbacher (55) to the Executive Board effective August 1, 2025. Welzbacher will succeed Olaf Schick, who requested the early termination of his contract in December 2024. The Supervisory Board of Continental AG agreed to this at its meeting on December 18, 2024. Following a joint transition period, Welzbacher will take over the role of CFO from Schick on October 1, 2025. The exact allocation and structure of Olaf Schick’s Executive Board functions (Finance as well as Integrity and Law) will be announced at a later date. Welzbacher will continue to manage the Finance and Controlling function in the Tires group sector at the same time, which he has headed since 2023. After the ContiTech group sector becomes independent as planned, Welzbacher will continue his Executive Board role at Continental AG, which will then be focused on tires.
Schick will step down from his role on September 30, 2025, after the planned completion of the spin-off of the Automotive group sector. Schick will join the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG effective October 1, 2025.
“In Roland Welzbacher, we have appointed an extremely experienced manager to the Executive Board with strong ties to the company. He is an excellent choice for the position of CFO, given the planned independence of the ContiTech group sector and the future focus of Continental AG as a tire company,” said Wolfgang Reitzle, chairman of Continental’s Supervisory Board.
“Roland Welzbacher is an outstanding leader with whom I have worked closely for many years. His extensive international experience in the tire sector and deep expertise in finance as well as mergers and acquisitions make him exceptionally well suited to help shape Continental’s realignment as CFO. I look forward to continuing our collaboration on the Executive Board,” said Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer.
Roland Welzbacher has been with Continental for 22 years and has held several positions in the tire business, including CEO of Semperit Reifen GmbH, head of the tire-replacement business for OEMs and international fleets, as well as head of the tire-replacement business in Southern Europe. Before joining Continental, he worked as a mergers and acquisitions consultant at Hypo Consult GmbH in Munich, Germany.
