Rudolf Rupprecht

Rudolf Rupprecht (born January 12, 1940 in Berlin ) is a German industrial manager and former CEO of MAN AG (1996 to 2004).

Life

After graduating from high school in Straubing, the son of an engineer studied at the Technical University of Munich from 1959 to 1966 (qualifications: graduate engineer and graduate industrial engineer). He then started as a sales engineer for diesel engines at Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG (MAN) , which at the time belonged to the Gutehoffnungshütte group (GHH). In 1971 he became sales manager at the then MAN subsidiary Wolffkran , returned three years later to the diesel engine division and in 1981 became general manager and director of the MAN diesel engine division. In the course of the restructuring of MAN and its former parent company GHH into today's MAN Group, Rupprecht became a member of the board of the newly formed subsidiary MAN B&W Diesel AG in 1984 , took over its chairmanship in 1989 and moved up to the MAN board in 1991. In 1993 he became CEO of MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG and finally took over as CEO of the entire group in 1996.

As MAN boss, Rupprecht continued the consolidation course of his predecessor Klaus Götte by concentrating the group's business area on the four core areas of commercial vehicles, diesel engines, printing machines ( MAN Roland ) and turbo machines ( MAN Turbo ) and selling so-called "peripheral activities" ( Schwäbische Hüttenwerke , MAN DWE , Wolffkran and SMS Demag ). Also during Rupprecht's term of office, the traditional MAN Gutehoffnungshütte AG , which had emerged from the former GHH parent plant in Oberhausen - Sterkrade , was finally broken up . Profitable areas were transferred to the new subsidiary MAN Turbo, the rest also sold.

Rupprecht used the proceeds from the various sales to further strengthen the commercial vehicle division, e.g. B. through the takeover of the coach manufacturer Auwärter ( Neoplan ), further acquisitions in Poland and Great Britain as well as the entry into MAZ and Scania .

Rupprecht retired on January 1, 2005; his successor at the head of the MAN board was the former Scania board member Håkan Samuelsson .

Awards

• Honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Munich (1995)
• Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class (1999)

Memberships

In addition to the MAN supervisory board, Rupprecht belongs to the supervisory boards of other companies: Salzgitter AG , Buderus AG, Walter Bau AG and Bilfinger Berger (since 2008).

literature

• Rudolf Rupprecht , Internationales Biographisches Archiv 44/2004 of October 30, 2004, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)