New board chairman for BMW

FRANKFURT, Germany - BMW says CEO Norbert Reithofer will leave his post early to become chairman of the board as part of "generational change" at the top of the German automaker's command structure.

The company said on Tuesday (Dec 9 2014) that he would be replaced as CEO by BMW production executive Harald Krueger.

Reithofer has headed the company since 2006, seeing it through steady profits, strong margins and business expansion in China.

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Krueger joined BMW as a trainee in 1992 and worked his way through several top jobs. He was responsible for the company's Mini brand and its BMW motorcycles before becoming production chief in 2013.

He was project engineer for the plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in the 1990’s and director of engine production at Hams Hall in England.

The Munich-based company said in a statement that Reithofer would replace board chairman Joachim Milberg at the shareholders’ meeting on May 13 2015.

The company said the changes were "steps taken to initiate a generational change" in the offices of CEO and chairman.