• Dr. Astrid Fontaine has extensive experience in the automotive industry and most recently worked for the Volkswagen Group
• Human Resources is playing an important role in the process of integrating Vitesco in the Schaeffler Group
• Georg F. W. Schaeffler wants to thank Corinna Schittenhelm, who did not extend her contract after two terms in office

Herzogenaurach, Germany | November 20, 2023 | The Supervisory Board of Schaeffler AG has appointed Dr. Astrid Fontaine as Chief Human Resources Officer and as a full member of the Board of Managing Directors of Schaeffler AG, effective January 1, 2024. Dr. Fontaine has extensive and long-term international experience in the HR departments of well-known major automobile manufacturers.

Dr. Astrid Fontaine is coming to Schaeffler from the Volkswagen Group, where she was most recently responsible for “People & Transformation” on the Board of Management at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles since September 2021. Before that, she was Head of “People, Digitalization and IT” at Bentley Motors in the UK from January 2018 to August 2021, also at Board level. Other activities in HR between 1994 and 2017 included positions at Porsche Cars North America and at DaimlerChrysler and Mercedes-Benz AG in Germany and the US.

Dr. Fontaine, who has both German and US citizenship, holds multiple Supervisory Board mandates within the Volkswagen Group. She has a degree in business administration and mechanical engineering and was awarded a doctorate in the field of “Information Systems” after completing a PhD program in the US. She has been a member of the Expert Group on the Transformation of the Automotive Industry at the German Federal Ministry of Economics since 2022.

“We are extremely pleased that we have succeeded in recruiting Dr. Astrid Fontaine, a proven HR expert described by Automobilwoche magazine as being ‘one of the most influential women in the automotive industry’. Thanks to her extensive experience and know-how within large international automotive groups, she will also play a particularly important role in the anticipated task of integrating Vitesco Technologies Group AG,” says Georg F. W. Schaeffler, Family Shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Schaeffler AG. “At the same time, I wish to thank Ms. Corinna Schittenhelm most sincerely for her great personal commitment during the past eight years. She did an excellent job of setting up the HR function at Schaeffler, which will allow her successor, assisted by a first-class team, to build on a very good foundation.”

Forward-looking statements and projections

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial consequences of the plans and events described herein. No one undertakes any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this press release. Statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or events should not be taken as representation that such trends or events will continue in the future. The cautionary statements set out above should be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that Schaeffler, or persons acting on its behalf, may issue.

Schaeffler Group – We pioneer motion

The Schaeffler Group has been driving forward groundbreaking inventions and developments in the field of motion technology for over 75 years. With innovative technologies, products, and services for electric mobility, CO₂-efficient drives, chassis solutions, Industry 4.0, digitalization, and renewable energies, the company is a reliable partner for making motion more efficient, intelligent, and sustainable – over the entire life cycle. The motion technology company manufactures high-precision components and systems for drive train and chassis applications as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications. The Schaeffler Group generated sales of EUR 15.8 billion in 2022. With around 84,000 employees, the Schaeffler Group is one of the world’s largest family-owned companies. With more than 1,250 patent applications, Schaeffler was Germany’s fourth most innovative company in 2022 according to the DPMA (German Patent and Trademark Office).

Contacts