Finance
Continental picks tyre veteran as CEO to focus on core business
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 17, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 17, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Continental appoints Christian Koetz as CEO to focus on tyre business, succeeding Nikolai Setzer. The company plans to sell ContiTech by 2026.
By Rachel More
BERLIN, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Continental has appointed Christian Koetz, a three-decade veteran of its tyre business, to become its next CEO as the German autos supplier looks to complete an overhaul to focus on its core tyre operations.
Nikolai Setzer, 54, is stepping down as CEO by mutual agreement after more than 16 years as a board member and five years at the helm, the company said on Wednesday.
The change comes "on the back of the significant progress made with Continental's realignment", it said in a statement.
The supervisory board unanimously appointed Koetz at a meeting on Wednesday. The 55-year-old is set to take over as CEO from January 1, the statement said.
Setzer told the FAZ newspaper in April that he would step back if the spin-off of rubber and plastics division ContiTech proceeded as planned.
Continental's car parts business was spun off and went public as new company Aumovio in September, while the group is proceeding with a planned sale of ContiTech in the second half of 2026.
Koetz has been an executive board member since 2019 and previously led key areas within the tyre business.
"Together with the Executive Board team and all colleagues throughout the company, we will complete the realignment and continue the success story of our tire business," Koetz said.
(Reporting by Rachel More. Editing by Miranda Murray and Mark Potter)
Corporate governance refers to the systems, principles, and processes by which a company is directed and controlled. It encompasses the mechanisms through which companies, and their stakeholders, are held accountable.
A supervisory board is a body of elected or appointed members who oversee the activities of a company, ensuring that it is managed in the best interests of shareholders and stakeholders.
Corporate strategy is the overall plan for a company to achieve its goals and objectives, including decisions on resource allocation, business direction, and competitive positioning.
A spin-off is a type of corporate restructuring in which a company creates a new independent company by selling or distributing new shares. This often occurs to focus on core operations or unlock value.
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