Grammer AG: Supervisory Board appoints Thorsten Seehars as new CEO

- Supervisory Board appoints internationally experienced automotive manager to the Executive Board and as the new Chief Executive Officer

- Grammer AG's new Executive Board now complete

- Board member Manfred Pretscher to leave the company on August 31, 2019 as planned

Amberg, April 25, 2019 - With the appointment of Thorsten Seehars (46) as the new Chief Executive Officer, Grammer AG's Supervisory Board has now successfully completed the new Executive Board of the company. At its meeting on April 25, 2019, it passed a resolution to appoint Mr. Seehars to the Executive Board with effect from August 1, 2019.

Thorsten Seehars began his career at Freudenberg and joined BorgWarner, a public listed US automotive supplier, in 2000. Since then he has held various management positions such as Director of Sales and Application Engineering for Turbo Systems in Asia, Director of Operations for the Transmission Control plants in Europe and Vice President & General Manager for Combustion Solutions in Europe until his move to Knorr-Bremse at the beginning of 2015. As a member of the Management Board of Knorr-Bremse Systems for Commercial Vehicles, he is currently responsible for the Business Unit Powertrain, the Trailer Sales and several international production sites.

"We are pleased that Mr. Seehars will be joining the Executive Board and assuming the position of Chief Executive Officer at the Grammer AG. We are gaining with him an internationally highly experienced executive and proven automotive expert. In addition, he has a strong background in operations, customer management and business development," says Dr.-Ing. Klaus Probst, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, explaining the decision. "With the appointment of the new Chief Executive Officer, we have now completed the Grammer AG's Executive Board on a long-term basis. We are delighted that we now have three experienced managers on board to continue and shape the successful development of this company."

The current CEO Manfred Pretscher, who has also assumed the function of CFO on an interim basis, will become an ordinary member of the Executive Board as of August 1, 2019. He will thus support the new board members in their respective functions and ensure continuity in the implementation of the corporate strategy. Manfred Pretscher will be leaving the Grammer Group at his own request effective August 31, 2019. He had previously announced last autumn that he would only be available to the company for a transitional period to ensure a smooth handover.

"The Supervisory Board and employees of the Grammer Group would like to sincerely thank Mr. Pretscher for his commitment over the past years and especially during the transition phase. During his many years as COO, Mr. Pretscher has been instrumental in the Company's successful growth and internationalization, paving the way for new products and processes," Probst continued.

Company profile

Located in Amberg, Germany, Grammer AG specializes in the development and production of components and systems for automotive interiors as well as suspended driver and passenger seats for onroad and offroad vehicles.
In the Automotive Division, we supply headrests, armrests, center console systems, high-quality interior components, operating systems and innovative thermo-plastic solutions to premium automakers and automotive system suppliers.
The Commercial Vehicles Division comprises seats for the truck and offroad seat segments (tractors, construction machinery, forklifts) as well as train and bus seats.
With round about 15,000 employees, Grammer operates in 19 countries around the world. Grammer shares are listed in the Prime Standard and traded on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges via the electronic trading system Xetra.