Jürgen Erich Schrempp (born September 15, 1944, in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

) is the former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Daimler-Benz from May 1995 to December 31, 2005, which became

DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...

, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

- American car and truck manufacturer. Following a decision of the board taken on July 28, 2005, he was succeeded on January 1, 2006, by

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

frontman Dieter Zetsche. Schrempp was the architect of the merger joint venture between Daimler Benz and Chrysler, which ultimately ended in failure when Chrysler was sold in 2007.

Career

Schrempp studied engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg and did his apprenticeship at Mercedes-Benz. From 1974 to 1980 he served in executive positions at Mercedes-Benz of South Africa. Between 1982 and 1984 he was an executive at

Euclid Trucks The Euclid Trucks was a manufacturer which specialized in heavy equipment for earthworks (engineering), earthmoving, particularly dump trucks, loader (equipment), loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers. Known for its distinctive bright green paint s ...

, returning to Daimler-Benz in 1985. From 1989 to 1995, Schrempp headed the aerospace division of Daimler-Benz, then called

DASA DASA (officially Deutsche AeroSpace AG, later Daimler-Benz AeroSpace AG, then DaimlerChrysler AeroSpace AG) was a German aerospace manufacturer. It was created during 1989 as the aerospace subsidiary arm of Daimler-Benz, Daimler-Benz AG (later D ...

, which is

EADS Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

today. DASA acquired the Dutch aircraft manufacturer

Fokker Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 19 ...

that was already in difficulty in 1993 after it signed a contract stating the intention to take Fokker over on October 30, 1992. Schrempp called Fokker his "love baby". In 1995, Schrempp was appointed CEO of Daimler-Benz, succeeding Edzard Reuter. On January 22, 1996, after having subsidized the losses of Fokker with billions of Deutsche Marks, Daimler-Benz decided to stop putting more money into Fokker, and the firm subsequently went bankrupt. During his tenure at Daimler-Benz, Schrempp oversaw the 80% acquisition of the

Chrysler Corporation FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of ...

in 1998 to become DaimlerChrysler. Schrempp called the merger a "match made in heaven". In addition to the acquisition of Chrysler, Schrempp pursued the acquisition of

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

as part of his 'Three Pillars' strategy to expand the reach of Daimler-Benz into the major markets of the United States and Asia. In 2004, the Mitsubishi investment became a liability with the Japanese manufacturer swamped under a mountain of debt and following a refusal by other members of the Japanese

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

keiretsu A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings that dominated the Japanese economy in the second half of the 20th century. In the legal sense, it is a type of business group that is in a loosely organized al ...

'' to assist Daimler in funding its operation. The German company eventually walked away with substantial losses. On 14 May 2007, Daimler sold 80% of Chrysler to the private equity firm Cerberus. Under the lead of Schrempp, Mercedes-Benz's 'legendary' reputation for quality suffered, critics alleged the brand "lost its engineering focus and has placed a higher value on cost." Meanwhile the profits gained from cost-cutting seeped away to loss-making ventures such as the

Smart ''SMart'' was a British CBBC television programme based on art, which began in 1994 and ended in 2009. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London. Previously it had been recorded in Studio A at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingha ...

brand and the investments in Chrysler and Mitsubishi On 31 December 2005, Schrempp was succeeded by Dieter Zetsche as CEO of Daimler. Although officially a voluntary departure, reports suggested that Schrempp was 'ousted' from his position. Schrempp is a Director of South African Coal, Oil and Gas, and

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jew ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Additional engagements include the Chairmanship of United Global Academy - UGA, the advisory board of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

, the European Advisory Board of Harvard Business School, and the German Council of

INSEAD INSEAD ( ; French: ''Institut européen d'administration des affaires'') is a non-profit business school with locations in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and North America (San Francisco, USA ...

. He is also on the board of Transnet. He is also a

Honorary Consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

General for South Africa to the German states of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

and

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

. He was previously a non-executive director of

Vodafone Group Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and ...

plc, after their 2000 take over of Mannesman Group. He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg Meeting (also known as the "Bilderberg Group", "Bilderberg Conference" or "Bilderberg Club") is an annual off-the-record forum established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally ...

Recognition

Schrempp is the recipient of: * Cross of the Order of Merit of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

* Medal of Merit of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg * Commander of the National Order of Merit of the

French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* Commander of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* The

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

’s Cross of the St. Gregorius Order *

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold with Star for Services * Brazilian Southern Cross. * Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship * Commander of the

Order of Good Hope The Order of Good Hope or Order of the Cape of Good Hope is a dormant order of merit of the Republic of South Africa. History The Order of Good Hope was founded in 1973, by the republican government of South Africa, to grant those who had dis ...

Personal life

Schrempp lives primarily in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and Kitzbuehel

where his wife, Lydia Schrempp, owns an Italian restaurant. He has been married to Lydia since 2000, with whom he has a daughter, Loana Theresa, (born in 2001) and a son, Luca-Timon, (born in 2005). Schrempp has two sons, Alexander and Marc, from his previous marriage to Renate Lutz, which was ended by Lutz due to Schrempp's adulterous affair with Lydia, who was his

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

at the time. When she was his secretary, Schrempp reportedly paid Lydia a 200,000 euro yearly salary, more than double that of other staff in similar positions, after criticism from press, shareholders and Daimler employees Lydia resigned in 2010. As of 2010, Schrempp owns a farm in

Eastern Transvaal Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

, South Africa.

References

External links

Jürgen E. Schrempp personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schrempp, Jurgen E. Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group Chrysler executives Mercedes-Benz Group executives DaimlerChrysler Harvard Business School people 1944 births Living people Businesspeople from Freiburg im Breisgau Chief executives in the automobile industry Chrysler people Recipients of the Order of Good Hope