Joachim Post becomes BMW board member for development

The BMW Supervisory Board has made several new appointments to the Board of Management. Joachim Post, the current Chief Purchasing Officer, will take over as CTO from Frank Weber, who has to leave the company.

Nicolai Martin will succeed Post as Chief Purchasing Officer. The change within the Management Board could be an essential test for Post’s candidacy for BMW Group CEO when Oliver Zipse leaves in 2026.

With these decisions, the Supervisory Board has “set the personnel course to ensure the company’s future leadership in the areas of innovation and technology.” According to the Handelsblatt newspaper, Post is “a promising candidate as successor to CEO Oliver Zipse.”  In Group circles, this is seen as a ‘trend-setting’ decision.

Internal age limit

The background to the personnel shake-up is not dissatisfaction with the current Chief Technical Officer but the internal BMW age limit for board members.

At BMW, board members usually retire at 60 or only sign one-year contracts after that. However, the Supervisory Board made an exception for CEO Oliver Zipse: Zipse will be 62 years old when his contract ends in 2026.

There was no exception for Frank Weber, however. Weber took over the position in 2020 and is now reaching this age limit. “Frank Weber and the entire development division have delivered an exceptional job in recent years to develop BMW’s central future project into series production readiness: the Neue Klasse. Frank Weber deserves our sincere gratitude for this achievement,” said Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

“We wish him all the best for the future. And together with the Board of Management of BMW AG, we are very much looking forward to the launch of the Neue Klasse at the end of this year,” he added.

BMW veteran

Joachim Post has been with BMW since 2002 and was appointed to the Board of Management in January 2022, where he is responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Networks.

The 53-year-old took on this critical position during the coronavirus pandemic, with highly volatile supply chains and, above all, the industry-wide shortage of semiconductors. He did his job well as a crisis manager, and as a result, BMW came through the crisis better than Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Before joining the Board of Management, Post held numerous positions at BMW and knows the company well. He was previously Head of the Product Line Midsize BMW in the Development department and Head of Vehicle Strategy.

Still, he also held positions of responsibility in China’s joint ventures and was also responsible for the cooperation with Toyota. “Joachim Post has demonstrated his extensive technological expertise and management experience in recent years,” said Reithofer.

New Chief Purchasing Officer

On June 1st, Nicolai Martin was appointed Joachim Post’s successor to the BMW AG Board of Management. He is currently Head of the BMW-Rolls-Royce luxury class product line and previously held various management positions within the development department.

After holding positions in complete vehicle and powertrain, he headed the Driving Experience division, which bundles the development of driving dynamics, all functionalities of the chassis, and automated driving.

“With Nicolai Martin, another passionate engineer joins the Board of Management of BMW AG,” said Reithofer about the appointment. “With his additional business expertise, he is the right candidate for the Purchasing and Supplier Network Division.”

Other possible candidates for CEO

According to the Handelsblatt report, Joachim Post is now rumored to be Zipse’s successor. However, it is not yet certain that he will take over as CEO in the summer of 2026. Board Member for Production Milan Nedeljkovic (56) and Head of Human Resources Ilka Horstmeier (55) are also being touted as candidates.

Nevertheless, Post is the youngest of the three and could hold the CEO position for a longer time until he reaches retirement age. In the current disruptive times for the automotive industry, it can be of utmost importance that the person at the helm is there for a longer time.