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Career
J¨¹rgen E. Schrempp is Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler. Under Mr. Schrempp's leadership, the once highly diversified Daimler-Benz group has  refocused on its core business of developing, manufacturing and marketing automobiles and commercial vehicles. At the same time, the company has strengthened its financial underpinnings and implemented a global strategy, symbolized by the successful merger of Daimler-Benz with the Chrysler Corporation to create DaimlerChrysler in 1998. Today, DaimlerChrysler is a truly global enterprise which has a unique position in the world automotive industry.
Together with the French industrialist Jean-Luc Lagardere, Schrempp substantially contributed to the successful founding of the European aerospace company EADS (European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company). In 2000, DaimlerChrysler incorporated the consolidated German aerospace industry into the EADS group. Meanwhile, this investment has proven to deliver an excellent rate of return that is far above its cost of capital.
Mr. Schrempp's extensive international experience is the result of long-term assignments in Europe, South Africa and the United States and, over a more than forty-year career, managing a complex and global array of financial, organizational and cultural challenges. He has served as Board Member of Mercedes-Benz of South Africa (1980-1982), President of EUCLID Inc., a U.S-based Daimler-Benz subsidiary (1982-1984), President of Mercedes-Benz of South Africa (1985-1987), Deputy Board Member of Daimler-Benz AG with responsibility for world-wide sales of Commercial Vehicles (1987-1989), and Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG (1989-1995). He was named Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler-Benz AG in 1995. After the merger with Chrysler Corporation in 1998, he was Co-chairman of DaimlerChrysler AG together with Robert J. Eaton until 2000. Since then, he has been Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG. Mr. Schrempp's business strategy is built on four central pillars: global presence, leadership in technology, strong brands, and a broad product range. His knowledge of all aspects of the business is extensive. Having begun his career as an apprentice mechanic for Daimler-Benz in 1961, he earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Applied Science in Offenburg, Germany between 1964-1967. Mr. Schrempp joined Daimler-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart in 1967, shortly after receiving his degree. In 1974, he moved to Pretoria, South Africa, where he established the foundation for his management approach in his work with the United Car and Diesel Distributors (UCDD) factory, which at the time owned the only factory in the world outside of Germany permitted to manufacture Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.
Awards and Memberships
Mr. Schrempp has received numerous awards from the business and industrial community, including Futuro's "European Manager of the Year", Business Week's ¡°Manager of the Year", Automotive News' "Industry Leader of the Year", Manager Magazine's "Manager of the Year", Automobile Magazine's "Man of the Year", and the "Golden Steering Wheel" from Bild am Sonntag. J¨¹rgen Schrempp was awarded the Bambi Media Prize of the Burda publishing group together with former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Nelson Mandela, for their exemplary work in the war against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Mr. Schrempp has also been recognized for his civic leadership and charitable contributions. He is the recipient of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Bavarian Order of Merit, and the Medal of Merit of the Federal State of Baden-W¨¹rttemberg. He is Commander of the National Order of Merit of the French Republic, Commander of the French Legion of Honor, bearer of the Vatican¡¯s Cross of the St. Gregorius Order, the Austrian Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold with Star for Services, and the Brazilian Southern Cross. Mr. Schrempp is the recipient of the Vernon A. Walters Award, the Armonk Institute Award for the Promotion of German and American Jewish Relations, the Global Leadership Award from the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship from the renowned Woodrow Wilson Center. He has received the Richard-Merton-Badge of Honor of the Stifterverband f¨¹r die Deutsche Wissenschaft, holds an honorary senatorial seat in the German Fachhochschule Offenburg, a Professorship of the Federal State of Baden-W¨¹rttemberg, Germany, an honorary Doctorate of the University of Graz, Austria, and an honorary Doctorate of Commerce (H.C.) of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. From January 1 to December 31, 1998, J¨¹rgen Schrempp was European Chairman of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue. In 1999, President Nelson Mandela conferred upon him South Africa¡¯s highest civilian award, the Order of Good Hope, for his outstanding support of South Africa even during the hard times of apartheid. Currently, Mr. Schrempp is Honorary Consul General of the Republic of South Africa, a member of the Investment Council of President Thabo Mbeki, Chairman of the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business ¡°SAFRI¡±, and Chairman emeritus of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
He is a Director of the South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation Ltd., Vodafone Group plc, UK, and Compagnie Financi¨¨re Richemont S.A., Switzerland. Additional engagements include the Advisory Board of Deutsche Bank AG, the European Advisory Board of Harvard Business School, and the German Council of INSEAD.
Personal
Born in Freiburg, Germany on September 15, 1944, Mr. Schrempp currently resides in Munich, Germany. He is married to Lydia Schrempp, with whom he has a daughter and a son. Mr. Schrempp has two sons from a previous marriage.
(Source: DaimlerChrysler)
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