BMW 2014 Annual Report Download - page 7

7 REPORT OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD
Dear Shareholders and Shareholder Representatives,
Back in 2007, the BMW Group set a new strategic course with the adoption of its strategy “Number ONE”.
Today, we can look back on the fifth successive year in which we have achieved record figures. Responsible
management involves anticipating new developments and initiating the next moves in good time to ensure
the future success of the business. This forward-looking approach applies equally to the Supervisory Board.
By taking the step of announcing Harald Krüger’s future appointment to the position of Chairman of the
Board of Management at an early stage and implementing other decisions with respect to the board’s com-
position, the resolutions adopted by the Supervisory Board in 2014 have set a clear-cut course for the future
leadership of the BMW Group. At the same stage, we also announced our plan to ring in a change at the
head
of the Supervisory Board in 2015 by declaring our unanimous support in favour of the appointment of
Dr Norbert Reithofer as its new Chairman. With the backing of major shareholders, we intend to propose
his election to the Supervisory Board at the Annual General Meeting. These proposed changes in leadership
have been initiated in order to strengthen the position of the BMW Group by ensuring a long-term manage-
ment perspective.
Main emphases of the Supervisory Board’s monitoring and advisory activities The Supervisory Board
again advised the Board of Management during the past financial year and carefully monitored its governance
of the business. Our work, both within the Supervisory Board and together with the Board of Management,
was constructive and characterised by open, trustful interaction.
In a total of five Supervisory Board meetings, we deliberated on the current situation of the BMW Group
as well as on macroeconomic developments in its most important sales markets. Additional key points of
debate at our meetings were Group corporate strategy and planning. Furthermore, we developed concepts
for a generational change at the chair level of both the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board, took
decisions regarding the composition and compensation of the Board of Management and passed resolutions
with respect to corporate governance.
We carefully monitored the performance of the BMW Group, both at scheduled meetings and at other times
as the need arose. In particular, the Board of Management kept us well informed of all key sales and workforce
figures. The Chairman of the Board of Management, Dr Norbert Reithofer, informed me promptly and di-
rectly about major business transactions and projects. In addition to scheduled meetings, Dr Karl-Ludwig Kley,
the Chairman of the Supervisory Board’s Audit Committee, and Dr Friedrich Eichiner, member of the Board
of Management responsible for Finance, consulted with each other directly at other times as the need arose.
At the beginning of the year, the Board of Management presented us with a summary of new and revised
models scheduled for market launch over the course of 2014.
In its regular reports on the financial condition of the Group, the Board of Management informed us of
sales volume developments and market competition issues relevant for the Automotive and Motorcycles
segments and highlighted fluctuations in the size of the workforce. Equally, we were kept up to date with
respect to the market developments and economic prospects of the world’s key regions. On the Financial
Services side of the business, the Board of Management provided us with regular updates on new business
with retail customers, changes in the portfolio of contracts with dealerships and retail customers as well as
the total volume of business.
The Board of Management also reported to us on its intention to increase the size of the Group’s produc-
tion network, with particular regard to the planned expansion of the Spartanburg plant in South Carolina,
USA, and the search for a new plant location in the NAFTA region, which is now due to be built in San Luis
Potosí, Mexico. As part of this process, we also discussed with the Board of Management the general sig-
nificance and scope of the “production follows the market” principle in the context of the global distribution
of value added along the production chain.