At its meeting today, the Supervisory Board of Continental AG appointed Olaf Schick (52) as the company’s new chief financial officer (CFO) effective July 1. In addition to Group Finance and Controlling, Schick will remain responsible for Group Law and Intellectual Property, Group Compliance, Group Internal Audit, Group Quality Management and Group Risks and Controls, all of which are currently part of the Integrity and Law function. Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer will take charge of Group Information Technology (IT), which is currently part of the Finance function. Setzer already oversees the central functions of Group Strategy, Group Communications and Public Affairs, Group Purchasing as well as Contract Manufacturing and the Chinese market.
Schick will take over the Finance function from Katja Garcia Vila (52), who will not be seeking another term on the Executive Board – as announced by the company on March 11, 2024. Her contract will expire at the end of the year. The Continental Executive Board will thus be reduced from seven to six members.
“Since joining the Executive Board, Olaf Schick has done an extraordinary job and has also advanced the company beyond his area of Integrity and Law. Due to his long-standing knowledge and experience in the areas of finance, portfolio management and governance, the Supervisory Board, after careful consideration, has decided to combine the Executive Board functions for Finance and for Integrity and Law under the responsibility of Olaf Schick. He is an excellent choice and enjoys the full confidence of the Supervisory Board. With this Executive Board team, we are in a strong position for the future,” said Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle, chairman of the Continental Supervisory Board, adding: “On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to once again thank Katja Garcia Vila for her outstanding achievements at Continental and wish her all the best.”
Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer: “Olaf Schick enjoys the trust of all Executive Board members and the entire organization. Thanks to his extensive expertise, he defined and initiated the comprehensive implementation of a modern global compliance and risk management system for Continental in a very short time. I look forward to working even more closely with him in his future role as CFO. Together, we will focus on implementing our strategy and the associated measures in order to meet our mid-term targets. We will achieve this under our own steam.” At the same time, Setzer said he was sorry to see Garcia Vila leave and thanked her for her outstanding achievements during her 27-year career at Continental. He emphasized the key role she played as CFO in developing the company’s strategy for realignment and laying the foundation for the company’s successful future.
Olaf Schick has been Continental’s Executive Board member for Integrity and Law since May 2023. Born in Tübingen, Germany, in 1972, he was previously the chief financial officer of Mercedes-Benz Group China (from July 2020). During his career, Schick worked in China for 8 years in various functions (CFO, mergers and acquisitions, and strategy). From 2017 to 2020 he was chief compliance officer at Daimler AG and from 2015 to 2017 he was chief financial officer of Mercedes-Benz Russia. Before that he held various positions within the company in the areas of law, mergers and acquisitions, and finance, and worked as a lawyer.
The Executive Board of Continental AG will comprise the following six members from July 1, 2024:
- Nikolai Setzer, chief executive officer, responsible for Group Strategy, Group Communications and Public Affairs, Group Information Technology, Group Purchasing, the Chinese Market and Contract Manufacturing (appointed until March 2029)
- Olaf Schick, member of the Executive Board, responsible for Finance and Controlling as well as Integrity and Law (appointed until April 2026)
- Dr. Ariane Reinhart, member of the Executive Board, responsible for Human Relations and Sustainability (appointed until September 2025)
- Christian Kötz, member of the Executive Board, responsible for the Tires group sector (appointed until April 2027)
- Philip Nelles, member of the Executive Board, responsible for the ContiTech group sector (appointed until May 2029)
- Philipp von Hirschheydt, member of the Executive Board, responsible for the Automotive group sector (appointed until April 2026)
