Stephan Winkelmann (born 18 October 1964) is a German

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and has been

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bugatti Automobiles Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. () is a French luxury automobile manufacturer and luxury brand for hyper sports cars. The company was founded in 1998 as a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group and is based in Molsheim, Alsace, France. The Bugatti na ...

since January 1, 2018 and also President and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. since December 1, 2020.

Life

As a young child, Winkelmann moved with his parents from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, as his father worked as a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

at the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(FAO). Stephan Winkelmann lived there for almost 20 years and graduated from the local German school. He then began studying

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, graduating with an M. A. in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

in 1991. During his studies, Winkelmann served for two years in the

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

s of the

German Armed Forces The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

Calw Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled ''Kalb'' accordingly) is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the district Calw. It is located in the Northern Black Forest and is a ...

Nagold Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the ''Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viad ...

, and Altenstadt and reached the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

of the

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

Career

He began his professional career in 1990 at the German financial services provider MLP.

Alfa Romeo & Fiat

Starting in 1993, Winkelmann entered the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

, working first in Munich as a

sales representative Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the Goods and services, goods or services, c ...

for

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

and finally, from 1994 to 2004, for Fiat and

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

, and Fiat Professional, respectively. There, Winkelmann held marketing and sales management positions, first as head of Alfa Romeo Germany, then as head of marketing for Fiat's southern region. From 1996 to 1999 for Italy, beginning with the launch of the

Alfa Romeo 156 The Alfa Romeo 156 (Type 932) is a compact executive car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It was introduced at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155. The 156 received a positive recep ...

. Winkelmann then worked as area manager for several European markets until he was appointed head of sales in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and then Fiat's managing director for Austria and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 2004, Winkelmann moved to Germany as CEO of Fiat Automobil AG.

Lamborghini

In January 2005, Stephan Winkelmann joined the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

and took over as President and CEO of

Automobili Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

Sant'Agata Bolognese Sant'Agata Bolognese ( Western Bolognese: ; City Bolognese: ) is a small ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, in the north of Italy. It is notable for being the headquarters of the luxury automobile manufacturer Automobi ...

. In the period up to 2016, his responsibilities included the launch of the new Gallardo,

Murciélago Murciélago (Spanish for "Bat") was a Navarra fighting bull, who gained fame after Lamborghini chose to name a supercar after him, to continue the passion for bullfighting Ferruccio Lamborghini, the company's founder, was famous for. Accordi ...

Aventador The Lamborghini Aventador () is a mid-engine sportscar produced by the Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini. In keeping with Lamborghini tradition, the Aventador is named after a Spanish fighting bull that fought in Zaragoza, Aragón in ...

, and Huracán models, plus a large number of unique models and one-offs. Under Winkelmann's aegis, Lamborghini also developed the Urus SUV, which was launched in 2018. Between 2005 and 2016, Lamborghini vehicle sales increased by 300 percent. At the end of 2020, it was announced that Winkelmann would once again take over as head of Lamborghini from December 1, in personal union with his previous role at Bugatti. He succeeded Stefano Domenicali, who became head of

Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

on January 1, 2021. Winkelmann also sits on the

supervisory board In corporate governance, a governance board also known as council of delegates are chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and fire the board of directors. In civil s ...

s at

Comité Colbert The Comité Colbert is an association "to promote the concept of luxury." The members are 81 French luxury brands. It was founded in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain. ''Métiers'' or Trade Sectors The association is divided into thirteen métiers o ...

, an association of French luxury manufacturers, and

Altagamma The Altagamma Foundation (in it, Fondazione Altagamma) is the Italian luxury brands committee composed of companies in the fields of design, fashion, food, jewellery, automobiles, and hospitality. History The Altagamma Foundation was created in ...

, an Italian committee for luxury brands.

Audi Sport

From March 2016, Winkelmann headed

quattro GmbH Audi Sport GmbH, formerly known as quattro GmbH,Audi-Mediacente ...

(now Audi Sport GmbH) as

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Bugatti

Stephan Winkelmann has been president of

since January 1, 2018. He replaced the previous president, Wolfgang Dürheimer, who held the position for five years and retired at the end of 2017. Since he took office, new models such as Divo, Centodieci, La Voiture Noire, and derivatives based on the

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

have been created.

Awards

In 2009, Stephan Winkelmann was awarded the decoration of Grand Officer in the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

(''Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana''). The award is a tribute to his commitment to relaunching the Italian marque, which has attained a leading position on the international automotive scene. On May 22, 2014 Stephan Winkelmann received the highest decoration in the Order of Merit of The Italian Republic,

Knight Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

. The decoration was awarded through the presidential “Motu Proprio” for the valued results achieved by Winkelmann as leader of one of the most important companies of Made in Italy.
Press Release of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., 23 May 2014
' Retrieved 2014-05-28.

References

External links

Winkelmann at Bugatti
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkelmann, Stephan 1964 births Living people German Army personnel German chief executives Bugatti Lamborghini Businesspeople from Berlin German emigrants to Italy