Conti appoints new personnel director

Continental AG has appointed Elke Strathmann its new director of Personnel and appointed her a regular member of the company’s Executive Board. The tyre and automotive supplier says the 53-year old mathematician and human resources manager will take up her three-year contract position during the first quarter of 2012. Current Executive Board member for human resources, Heinz-Gerhard Wente, will henceforth concentrate on his duties as head of the ContiTech division plus take on responsibility for corporate purchasing in the Executive Board.

“In the person of Ms Strathmann, we have been able to win over an HR expert with international experience,” commented Continental’s Supervisory Board chairman Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle, speaking at the company’s Supervisory Board meeting in Timisoara, Romania. “She is taking on the area of human resources at a phase filled with ambitious goals. Now more than ever, it is vital that Continental as an attractive employer finds the best talents worldwide. The Supervisory Board thanks Heinz-Gerhard Wente for his great commitment and meritorious service in the development of the company’s human resources.”

Elke Strathmann studied mathematics in Germany and started off her career in 1983 as IT manager at Procter & Gamble and she later held various managerial positions in human resources within the company. After joining Johnson & Johnson in 1994, she served first as human resources manager for the company’s German operations and then took on international management responsibilities within the corporation. Since early 2007, Strathmann has been Board of Management member for HR and chief human resources officer of Nestlé Deutschland AG.

At its meeting, the Supervisory Board also extended the contracts of three Executive Board members – Dr. Ralf Cramer (Chassis & Safety division), Helmut Matschi (Interior division) and Nikolai Setzer (Tires division) – by five years, to August 12, 2017. The contract of Heinz-Gerhard Wente (ContiTech division) was extended until April 30, 2014.