Krzysztof Olszewski
Krzysztof Olszewski (born November 26, 1951 in Wroclaw , Poland ) is a Polish engineer , founder and long-time CEO of Solaris Bus & Coach SA , formerly Neoplan Polska.
Life and activity
Olszewski studied mechanical engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology . Since 1976 he has been self-employed in the field of automotive technology. From December 1981 he lived in West Berlin , as political events and the imposition of martial law in Poland prevented him from returning from a business trip. In December 1982 he was followed by his wife Solange. Thanks to the help of employees of the Berlin Neoplan plant and the support of the Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany Hans-Dietrich Genscher , they brought their two children to join them in May 1983. They lived together in West Berlin for the next 14 years.
From January 1982 Olszewski was employed there by Neoplan and in 1985 became head of the plant there. In 1994 Olszewski returned to Poland and founded an independent Neoplan general agency for the Polish market. The company traded as Neoplan Polska.
Two years later, he and his wife opened a bus manufacturing plant in Bolechowo near Posen . The family company hired 36 people at the beginning of its activity. After the Solaris brand was launched in 1999 and the first low-floor buses of the Urbino family were created, the company became independent from Neoplan in 2001 and has since been known as Solaris Bus & Coach. Today Solaris is a leading European manufacturer of modern trams and buses . The company employs over 2,000 people in four factories in the Poznan region and more than 300 others work for foreign subsidiaries. Since production began in 1996, nearly 10,000 vehicles have left the factory in Bolechowo near Poznan. You drive with customers in 26 countries.
In 2018 the family sold all of their company shares to the Spanish company CAF . A share of 25 percent was passed on to a Polish state investment fund.
Krzysztof Olszewski is married and has two children, Małgorzata and Jan. His wife Solange has been involved in the company since Solaris Bus & Coach was founded, most recently as CEO.
Prizes and awards
- 1998: The Golden Cross of Merit of the President of the Republic of Poland
- 2005: “Manager of the Year 2004”, Polish Managers Association Award
- 2006: “Entrepreneur of the Year”, award from Ernst & Young management consultancy
- 2008: "Man of the Year in Greater Poland", Forbes Magazine Editorial Award
- 2010: Kisiel Prize from the news magazine Wprost in the entrepreneur category
- 2012: Cavalier Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
See also
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Olszewski, Krzysztof |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Polish engineer, founder and CEO of Neoplan Polska |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 26, 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wroclaw , Poland |