Mahle, ZF replace executives in management shakeups

German auto supplier Mahle has shaken up its management team, naming Arnd Franz, currently head of parts-maker LKQ Europe, as CEO and promoting Markus Kapaun to CFO from head of finance and accounting Europe, the company said Monday.

Franz’s position was most recently held by Matthias Arleth, who was appointed CEO in October 2021 but left the company in April. His appointment is something of a homecoming: Franz had worked at Mahle for 18 years before leaving to run LKQ Europe in 2019. 

Kapaun succeeds Michael Frick, who on Monday was announced as CFO of ZF Friedrichshafen, replacing Konstantin Sauer. He starts in his new role Dec. 1.

The transition to electrification at Mahle, known for making internal-combustion engine components such as pistons, has led to friction between management and unions.

With the appointment of Franz, who starts Nov. 1, Mahle will have had three CEOs in less than two years, with periods of several months in which an interim CEO led the company. 

Joerg Stratmann, who took the position in 2018, resigned on March 31, 2021, under pressure from unions after announcing restructuring plans in 2020 that included cutting 7,600 jobs, including 2,000 in Germany.

Stratmann was replaced by Arleth, an executive at sunroof-maker Webasto, who started on Jan. 1 of this year. But he left after just four months “by mutual agreement,” the company said. His position was temporarily filled by Frick starting in May.

Franz, a native of Stuttgart who holds a degree in business administration, started his career in 1992 with Deutsche Industrie-Holding, and worked at other companies including TEV, Erlensee and Magna Seating Systems. He joined Mahle in 2001 as managing director of Mahle Tennex North America. He joined the management committee in 2006, responsible for aftermarket, and the management board in 2013, responsible for sales and engineering applications and aftermarket.

Kapaun, also a native of Stuttgart, joined Mahle as a trainee in 2003. His management posts included head of controlling at Mahle South America; vice president finance, accounting, IT and legal affairs North America in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Kapaun was named to his current post in 2020.

At ZF, Frick will replace Sauer, who has been CFO since 2010. Sauer’s tenure included ZF’s $12.4 billion takeover of U.S. supplier TRW, which led to the ouster of CEO Stefan Sommer in 2017. 

Sauer was appointed interim CEO until Wolf-Henning Scheider was named to replace Sommer. Sauer joined ZF in 1990 and held a number of top management positions, including president of the South America region starting in 2000. He also oversaw financial details of ZF’s acquisition of Wabco in 2019.

Frick holds a degree in business administration degree from the University of Bamberg, Germany. He joined Mahle in 2003 as head of corporate controlling. Frick held management roles in China and the UK, before being appointed commercial director of Mahle-Behr in 2011. He has been a member of the Mahle board of management responsible for finance since 2014. 

ZF ranks No. 3 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers, with sales to automakers of $39.3 billion in 2021, and Mahle ranks 19th, with sales of $12.9 billion.