As of December 9, 2025, BMW’s Supervisory Board formally introduced that Milan Nedeljković, the incumbent Board member answerable for manufacturing, will turn into the brand new Chairman of the Board of Administration (CEO) of the BMW Group — changing Oliver Zipse. The change takes impact on Might 14, 2026.
At 56 years previous, Nedeljković brings to the position greater than three a long time of deep institutional expertise at BMW. He joined the corporate as a trainee in 1993 and has steadily climbed the ranks by quite a lot of technical and management roles. His new CEO contract runs by 2031, signaling long-term confidence from the Supervisory Board.
From Scholar to Plant Professional — Schooling and Early Profession
- Nedeljković studied mechanical engineering between 1988 and 1993 at RWTH Aachen College in Germany and hung out at Massachusetts Institute of Expertise (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- He subsequently earned a doctorate in engineering — specializing in forming expertise and foundry engineering — from Technical College of Munich (TUM) by 2004.
- In 1993, instantly after his research, he joined BMW as a trainee on the Munich plant — starting what would turn into a gradual rise by BMW’s manufacturing and administration hierarchy.
Key Milestones: Roles at BMW 1993–2019
Nedeljković’s development displays broad publicity to BMW’s manufacturing infrastructure — from press retailers and physique retailers to full plant administration.
- 1994–1999: Early planning roles in physique store and press store — mastering the basics of auto-body manufacturing.
- 1999–2006: Management assignments on the Munich and Regensburg vegetation — strengthening operational and managerial experience.
- 2006–2010: Head of Painted Physique (paint store) on the Oxford plant of MINI — a job combining technical know-how with brand-quality safeguarding.
- 2010–2013: Head of Meeting, then Head of Web site on the BMW plant in Leipzig — overseeing key levels of car meeting and web site operations.
- 2015–2018: Plant Supervisor at BMW’s Munich plant — one of many firm’s most essential manufacturing websites.
- 2018–2019: Head of Company High quality — answerable for high quality assurance throughout BMW’s world manufacturing community.
- Since October 2019: Member of the Board of Administration, answerable for Manufacturing — shepherding the corporate’s world manufacturing operations throughout a number of vegetation and nations.
Head of Manufacturing — Steering BMW Towards Electrification and “Neue Klasse”
When Nedeljković took cost of manufacturing in 2019, the automotive trade was already shifting quickly towards electrification. Below his stewardship, BMW has begun to retool and reorganize its manufacturing footprint to align with this new actuality. The corporate will give us some perception into that subsequent yr when the new BMW Munich Plant will open its doorways to the subsequent era of electrical autos.
Key parts of his tenure as manufacturing head:
- Overseeing the worldwide manufacturing community (some 31 manufacturing websites throughout roughly 15 nations, and tens of hundreds of workers) with a concentrate on adaptability, high quality, and effectivity.
- Main the shift towards electrical mobility, with important emphasis on the upcoming all-electric “Neue Klasse” — BMW’s next-generation electric-first mannequin household. His appointment as CEO is broadly seen as a guess on his capacity to ship this transformation.
- Working to reassign and restructure manufacturing vegetation — focusing inner combustion engine (ICE) manufacturing at chosen places (e.g., some websites like Steyr and Hams Corridor), whereas changing different vegetation to EV and “Neue Klasse” manufacturing.
Business commentators notice that his mix of operational know-how, engineering background, and lengthy tenure inside BMW make him well-suited to information the corporate by one of the disruptive intervals in automotive historical past — as Western automakers face stiff competitors from Chinese language EV makers, regulatory stress, and fast expertise shifts.
The choice by BMW’s Supervisory Board to raise Nedeljković — fairly than bringing in an outdoor “visionary” — speaks volumes in regards to the firm’s priorities as of late 2025. In keeping with the board’s assertion: he “convinces with strategic foresight, robust implementation expertise, entrepreneurial considering,” and “evokes folks with concepts, unites them behind shared values, and motivates them to comprehend peak efficiency.”
By selecting a CEO with deep operational and manufacturing expertise, BMW seems to double down on execution: ramping up EV output, guaranteeing high quality and price self-discipline, and delivering on the promise of “Neue Klasse” — all whereas navigating macroeconomic headwinds equivalent to elevated tariffs, unsure world demand, and intensifying competitors.
Charisma, Technical Credibility, and Management You Can See
Over time, I’ve had the chance to satisfy Nedeljković a number of instances at interviews and shows — most lately throughout the opening of the group’s new “iFACTORY”-era plant in Debrecen, Hungary. In individual, he comes throughout as a charismatic chief: articulate, technically grounded, and capable of clarify advanced manufacturing and electrification methods in clear, pragmatic phrases.
Given the size and complexity of BMW’s transformation, that mixture of technical credibility and management presence might show important. We want him good luck in his new position!
