Wolfgang Bernhard (born 3 September 1960) is a former member of the Board of Management of

Daimler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...

. He served as the former President and COO of

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

from 2000 to 2004.

Early life

Bernhard was born Wolfgang Ayerle on 3 September 1960 in Böhen,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He grew up as one of nine children and later took his mother's maiden name. He earned a master's degree in electrical engineering and economics from

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...

in 1986, an MBA from

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one ...

in 1988, and a doctorate in economics from

Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

in 1990.

Career

After obtaining his doctorate degree, Bernhard joined

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

in 1990 as a management consultant. In this capacity, he was assigned to Mercedes-Benz. In 1992, he joined Mercedes-Benz AG. Bernhard became CEO of Mercedes-AMG in 1999. Following the merger of

Daimler-Benz The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...

and

in 1998, Bernhard was appointed President and COO of the Chrysler division in 2000. He continued in the position until he was slated to become the head of the Mercedes-Benz group in May 2004, but was passed over for the job just a day before his official switch. Bernhard subsequently resigned. Bernhard then served as the CEO of the

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

brand for

Volkswagen AG 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 ...

from 2005 to 2007. He was ousted from this position in January 2007 by

Ferdinand Piech Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

. Bernhard then rejoined Daimler in April 2009, and was on the Board of Management member responsible for commercial vehicles since February 18, 2010. He became Head of Daimler Trucks and Buses Division on April 1, 2013. On 9 February 2017, Wolfgang Bernhard announced that he would not renew his contract with Daimler in January 2018. On 10 February, Daimler let him go. In February 2019 Bernhard replace Franz Gasselsberger on the supervisory board of Austrian aluminium group AMAG.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernhard, Wolfgang Columbia Business School alumni Living people 1960 births Businesspeople from Bavaria Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni Goethe University Frankfurt alumni People from Unterallgäu Mercedes-Benz Group executives Chrysler executives McKinsey & Company people Volkswagen Group executives