Manfred Wennemer Nominated to Bekaert Board

Following Julien De Wilde’s decision not to seek re-election to the board of Bekaert, the steel wire manufacturer has nominated ex-Continental AG CEO, Manfred Wennemer as director. The appointment is subject to approval by the general meeting of shareholders, which will take place on 13 May 2009.

Manfred Wennemer was chief executive officer of Continental AG from 2001 until August 2008, when he stepped down at the point that Schaeffler Group’s hostile takeover offer appeared to have reached the point of no return. Wennemer, had previously fought hard for Continental to retain its independence. He holds a Masters degree in Mathematics from the University of Münster, Germany and an MBA from INSEAD Fontainebleau, France.

Wennemer started his career at Procter & Gamble Schwalbach, Germany. After a short period at Arthur D. Little Wiesbaden, Wennemer took up several management positions in companies and business units belonging to the Freudenberg Group in Germany, South Africa and North America. In 1994 he moved to the Continental Group where he started as CEO of a ContiTech division in Hannover, Germany.

Baron Buysse, chairman of Bekaert’s board of directors, stated: “Mr Wennemer has accumulated broad international management experience, especially in his role as CEO of Continental, a 26.4 billion euro tyre and automotive components group with 150,000 employees in 200 entities worldwide. His appointment would offer Bekaert the opportunity to strengthen its board of directors with an independent director with highly valuable expertise and a strong personality.”