Departures & arrivals – changes to Borbet’s management team

Three managing directors are parting ways with wheel manufacturer Borbet, and not all are going voluntarily. One is Oliver J. Schneider, who as managing director of Borbet Vertriebs GmbH is in charge of aftermarket business. He is leaving at his own request, and Borbet has yet to name his successor. Two other members of the Borbet GmbH management team also ended their tenures with the company in the past week.

Oliver Schneider has been managing director of Borbet Vertriebs GmbH since September 2013 and in this capacity is responsible for Borbet’s sales company, which is based near Munich, Germany. He’d already accumulated 16 years of experience in the alloy wheel sector upon commencing this role, most recently as international sales manager at Ronal. Schneider will conclude his tenure at Borbet Vertriebs at the end of March 2024.

Chief executive officer Michael Wellenzohn left the company last week. He’d only joined the wheel manufacturer in January 2023 but was already familiar with his employer, having previously served on the Board of Trustees of the Borbet Foundation for one and a half years. Before entering the wheel business, he was responsible for sales, marketing and service on the Management Board of engine manufacturer Deutz AG.

Borbet brought in Michael Wellenzohn to continue and accelerate the company’s transformation, the company explained at the time. Now Borbet comments that “the change at the top is due to differing views regarding the company’s future strategic direction.”

Chief sales officer René Zboralski also left the wheel manufacturer last week. He had taken over the OEM sales activities of the Borbet Group as managing director in March 2021, joining the company after previously holding management positions at various automotive suppliers.

Burkhard Plett returning as CEO

In the wake of these changes, just Bernhard Nagl and Margot Borbet are managing the business of Borbet GmbH. But not for long, because a familiar face will return on 1 February 2024. Burkhard Plett served as managing director of Borbet GmbH between May 2011 and February 2021, and as Michael Wellenzohn’s successor, he is set to provide new impetus in the industry.

Burkhard Plett will return to Borbet GmbH as CEO from 1 February (Photo: Borbet)

“The overall entrepreneurial responsibility that Mr Plett has always assumed for the benefit of customers and the company will also be the focus of his new position as CEO,” says the company. Plett will also temporarily take over the responsibilities of René Zboralski.

In one further change at Borbet, Margot Borbet intends to concentrate fully on her duties as chair of the Borbet Foundation and of the Board of Trustees. “Looking to the future, I am confident that Borbet will continue on its successful path under the leadership of Burkhard Plett. The company has a positive outlook for the future and I am firmly convinced that we will continue on our successful path,” she concludes.