Declining profits and share price piledon the pressure. BMW's boss resigns.

BMW’s youngest ever boss has called it quits. Harald Krüger announced that he would not seek a second term as BMW’s CEO, in a move that many analysts see as pre-emptive.

Krüger’s tenure as BMW’s boss started unfavourably, after he collapsed on stage at the 2015 Frankfurt auto show, during a presentation. This was only a few months after his appointment – a move which positioned him, at age 48, as the youngest CEO of a major automotive brand.

During Krüger’s time as CEO, BMW was bested as the world’s best-selling premium automotive company by Mercedes-Benz, the year after his promotion. Krüger’s departure is understood to be as a result of growing tension between him and BMW’s board, as the company’s share price has declined by a third since his take over as CEO.

The official announcement from BMW notes that Krüger has decided to not to renew his contract, which expires in April of 2020. BMW had scheduled a meeting for 18 July, with the specific agenda of deliberating its CEO’s future. It would appear that Krüger had a sense that he would not prevail and decided to leave of his own accord.

A mechanical engineer by training, with aviation experience, Krüger spent most of his career at BMW in production planning. He was a key member of the industrial engineering team which established one of the company’s most important global assembly facilities, the Spartanburg factory in South Carolina.

BMW is expected to announce a successor to Krüger, after its 18 July general board meeting.

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