Matthias Arleth will be the new CEO and chairman of the management board of the Mahle Group.
The 53-year-old automotive engineer is joining the company from automotive component supplier Webasto SE, where he was most recently vice chairman of the board of management.
Arleth will take up his new post on 1 January, 2022 and replaces Joerg Stratmann, who left on 31 March, 2021. Arleth has many years of experience in the automotive industry, both with manufacturers and with component suppliers.
“In Arleth, we are gaining the services of both a recognised expert in product development with respect to future oriented technologies and a consistent driver of transformation processes, with a view to making Mahle fit for the future,” said Heinz Junker, chairman of the supervisory board.
Junker said Arleth’s combination of experience with major groups in the automobile manufacturing and supplier industries, as well as his work on the development of e-mobility solutions for his previous employers, made him especially well qualified to head Mahle.
Arleth has held positions with various companies including the Volkswagen group, where he was a development engineer and project manager with Seat. In 1997, he moved to a subsidiary of Magna, becoming head of sales and development and managing director. Subsequently, he assumed various management positions within Magna International, the last one being EVP of Magna E-Car Systems.
In 2011, Arleth joined automotive component supplier Webasto as EVP of the roof systems business unit in Europe. From 2013, he was vice chairman of the Webasto sunroofs & components management board. In 2015, Arleth was appointed to the Webasto management board of Webasto SE, advancing to the position of vice chairman in 2017. As COO and CTO, he was in charge of all technical departments from product development through to responsibility for all production plants.