ZF Appoints Former BorgWarner, Hella Exec to Board

ZF has recently announced the appointment of Dr. Martin Fischer, former Hella and BorgWarner (BW) executive, as a new member of the ZF executive board. It is planned that Mr. Fisher will join the board in early November and take the lead in driver assist systems, electronics, active and passive safety, the North and South America regions, and corporate quality. He will replace Franz Kleiner, who plans to retire at the beginning of next year.

Martin Fischer

Mr. Fischer, who has a phD in electrical engineering, started his labor activity at VDO, where he was specialized in chassis and wireless solutions. Subsequently in 2006, he joined the spare parts supplier Hella, where he was designated for managerial positions in Germany and the U.S. In eight years; Mr. Fischer got a job in BW, where he worked as a vice-president and chief executive of the turbo charger division. In 2018, Fischer became the head of BW's global transmissions solutions entity. In that position, he was in charge of BW’s 18-site transmission systems business.

According to ZF, Mr. Fisher has a wealth of experience in decision-making positions at big automotive companies. For almost twenty years of meticulous work in the auto industry, Mr. Fisher managed to gain invaluable expertise in the field of electronics and facilitated to implementation of the BW’s strategy of shifting from standard to electrified gearboxes.

Franz Kleiner

ZF also expresses its great appreciation to retiring Franz Kleiner, who played a key role in the incorporation of TRW, which ZF purchased in 2015. Mr. Kleiner played a key role in ZF’s international growth and the company wishes him best of luck in all of his future endeavors.