‘Integrity & Law’ function added to Continental Executive Board

Continental AG is consolidating responsibility for law, compliance and risk management under one Executive Board function. This ‘Integrity and Law’ function will be headed by Olaf Schick, who on 1 July 2023 joins the Executive Board for a three-year period, expanding the board to six members.

The tyre and automotive systems company created the Integrity and Law function as part of a more intensive focus on these areas. According to Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle, chairman of Continental’s Supervisory Board, this increased focus underscores “their importance against the backdrop of increasing global requirements.”

Schick will be responsible for the central areas Group Law and Intellectual Property, Group Compliance, Group Internal Audit, Group Quality Management and the new area Group Risks and Controls. Until he starts his new role, these areas will remain the responsibility of existing board members.

“In Olaf Schick, we have gained an internationally experienced leader,” comments Reitzle. “He is an excellent fit because of his expertise in setting up a modern, global compliance and risk management system and conducting internal investigations, coupled with his extensive operational and governance experience.”

“I am delighted to welcome Olaf Schick to our Executive Board team,” adds Nikolai Setzer, chairman of Continental’s Executive Board. “With his experience and expertise, he will be instrumental in further strengthening integrity and law at Continental. Together we will set the highest standards in these areas.”

About Olaf Schick

Olaf Schick is currently chief financial officer of Mercedes-Benz Group China, a position he has held since July 2020. From 2017 to 2020 he was chief compliance officer at Daimler AG. Before that he held various positions within the company in the areas of law, mergers and acquisitions, and finance, and as a lawyer. He was born in 1972 in Tübingen, Germany, is married and has two children.

The Continental Executive Board will comprise the following members from 1 July 2023:

• Nikolai Setzer, chairman of the Executive Board and chairman of the Automotive Board (appointed until March 2024)
• Katja Dürrfeld, member of the Executive Board, responsible for Finance, Controlling and IT (appointed until December 2024)
• 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 and Group Purchasing (appointed until April 2027)
• Philip Nelles, member of the Executive Board, responsible for the ContiTech group sector (appointed until May 2024)
• Olaf Schick, member of the Executive Board, responsible for Integrity and Law (appointed until June 2026).