The Supervisory Board of ZF Friedrichshafen AG appointed Franz Kleiner and Peter Lake members of ZF’s Board of Management.
Kleiner, up to now Head of ZF’s Industrial Technology division will be member of the Board of Management as of the beginning of 2015. He will be responsible for ZF Group’s business in North America. Mr. Lake, who is currently responsible for Sales at TRW, will be member of ZF’s Board of Management responsible for corporate market as of Oct. 1, 2015. ZF’s CEO, Dr. Stefan Sommer, will continue to be responsible for Services and Aftermarket. Mr. Lake’s appointment is subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities to ZF’s acquisition of TRW.
“With the acquisition of TRW, ZF – a globally present company – strongly reinforces its international footprint; we acknowledge this fact by appointing two managers with longstanding international experience to the Board of Management”, explains ZF’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Prof. Dr. Giorgio Behr, the decision of the controlling committee. “The appointment of TRW’s Head of Sales, Peter Lake, as member of ZF’s Board of Management underscores that we intend to make strong use of TRW’s enormous potential – namely for the entire ZF Group!”
55-year-old Dr. Franz Kleiner joined Nortel Networks, the German subsidiary of the Canadian telecommunications supplier, in 1997; after he had already successfully completed his PhD degree at the University of Stuttgart as well as different management assignments in planning and controlling at the former Daimler Benz AG. At Nortel Networks, Dr. Kleiner was appointed CFO in 2002; in 2006, he came on board of the ZF Group. Here, he worked four years as General Manager Finance at the former ZF Lemforder Corporation in Northville, Michigan, USA. As of 2010, Dr. Kleiner was employed in this capacity at ZF in Dielingen and as of 2011, he also took over responsibility for Finance and HR in Passau. In Spring 2013, he was appointed Head of the Industrial Technology division. “His excellent knowledge of the ZF Group on the one hand and the US market on the other, predestine him as ZF’s member of the Board of Management responsible for the Region of North America”, stated Mr. Behr regarding Mr. Kleiner’s appointment.
Until its acquisition by TRW, 58-year-old Peter Lake worked in different positions at the automotive supplier Lucas Varity. At TRW, Mr. Lake was i.a. Head of Corporate Development and contributed significantly to the integration of Lucas Varity into the TRW company. Since 2004, Mr. Lake has been Head of Sales at TRW and, in addition to other assignments, has been responsible for sales and business development, for strategy topics, and acquisitions. “With his profound experience in integration and sales, Peter Lake is a highly valuable supplement to ZF’s Board of Management”, says ZF’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Mr. Behr.
