Katja Garcia Vila leaving Continental at year’s end

Continental is beginning the search for a new chief financial officer after Katja Garcia Vila informed the company she won’t seek another term on the Executive Board following her current contract’s expiry in December 2024. Garcia Vila is taking this step as part of “her own career planning.”

“After 27 years at Continental, I’ve decided to continue my career outside the company,” states Garcia Vila. “My contract ends in December of this year, and I will continue in my role as CFO until a successor is appointed. This was not an easy decision for me. I started my career at Continental in 1997, and ever since I’ve felt deeply connected to the people and the company. My decision won’t change that.”

Continental first appointed Garcia Vila to the Executive Board in December 2021 and since then has been responsible for Group Finance and Controlling as well as Group IT.

“The entire Supervisory Board respects Katja Garcia Vila’s decision and at the same time is extremely sorry to see her leave,” says Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle, chairman of Continental’s Supervisory Board. “She has helped to improve Continental’s financial results, particularly in the Automotive group sector, and increase Continental’s overall financial strength, putting Continental one step closer to its mid-term targets. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to sincerely thank Katja Garcia Vila for her outstanding achievements at Continental and wish her all the best.”

Nikolai Setzer, chief executive officer of Continental, adds that the entire Executive Board team “deeply regrets” Garcia Vila’s impending departure. “Over the past few challenging years, we have worked closely together to realign our organisation and increase our resilience. Katja Garcia Vila played a key role in developing the company’s strategy for realignment and launching it over the past year, thus laying the foundation for our successful future. I’m convinced we will continue our excellent collaboration until her departure, and I will continue to maintain close ties to her personally.”

Katja Garcia Vila began her career at Continental in 1997. A graduate in business administration, she held various positions in IT, marketing, sales, logistics, auditing and purchasing before taking over as head of Systems & Standards in the corporate finance department in 2008, followed by head of Group Audit worldwide in 2013. In 2018, she moved to the ContiTech business area as head of Finance, Controlling and IT. In December 2021, Garcia Vila was appointed to the Continental Executive Board as chief financial officer. From the beginning of 2022 until the end of April 2023, she was also responsible for Finance and Controlling in the Automotive group sector.