Conti Overhauls German Market Management Structure

Continental is setting up a management structure in its home market with a stronger gearing towards customer and regional demands. The company says its Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH operation will “step up its exploitation of the experience gained in the passenger tyre industry and trade business, with the aim of more fully satisfying the needs of business partners.” Several new key appointments will facilitate the company’s plans in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the three lands serviced by Continental Reifen Deutschland.

Within the region’s Passenger Tire Replacement market organisation, headed by Norbert Busch, responsibility for sales activities in Germany as of February 1, 2010 rests with Frank Jung. In January Roland Welzbacher took charge of the Austrian market organisation. These two appointments will enable Busch to concentrate upon the region’s ongoing strategic development. In this capacity, Busch continues to report to Dr. Hartmut Wöhler, head of Marketing and Sales for Europe and Africa.

Frank Jung reports directly to Busch. In the newly created post of ‘market manager for Germany’, Jung will benefit from his considerable experience gained as general manager of Vergölst, the Continental owned German market fast-fit chain. Prior to his time with Vergölst, Jung held key sales positions at Continental. The German, Austrian and Swiss sales organisation will, at the same time, notes Conti, profit all around from expanded management capacities, upping the region’s significance for the corporation.

In a parallel development, Jürgen Marth, currently head of the Two Wheel Tire business unit, assumes the post of general manager at Vergölst. In this capacity he can draw both on the international experience gathered in the course of his worldwide responsibility and on his experience earlier as head of regional sales in the Passenger Tire Replacement Germany, Austria and Switzerland market organisation. Marth reports to Andreas Gerstenberger, who as head of the ContiTrade business unit, oversees Continental’s entire trade business in Europe.

Constantin Batsch, will take on Marth’s former job as head of the Two Wheel Tire business group. Prior to this, Batsch held the position of European key account manager for the Volkswagen Corporation’s car dealer business and its European importers. Batsch has already gained international experience and business acumen in his previous posts, including through his prior activity as Executive Board assistant. In his new role, Batsch reports directly to Nikolai Setzer, head of the Passenger and Light Truck Tires Division.

“The management changes announced today rigorously carry forward in personnel matters as well our long-term passenger tyre strategy of more tightly tying in our industry and trade know-how,” declared Nikolai Setzer, head of the Passenger and Light Truck Tires Division and member of the Continental AG Executive Board. “Our goal here is to establish a more all-embracing understanding of business internationally, to more individually shape our customer relationships and, in doing so, to join together in gradually tapping additional potential that has, to date, remained hidden.”