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HERZOGENAURACH (dpa-AFX) - One of the most enigmatic entrepreneurial personalities in Germany's post-war history is stepping down. Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann, matriarch of Franconian automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler, is retiring from active work on the supervisory board at the age of 81. She will hold only an honorary role after the annual general meeting in April, the company announced Friday. Schaeffler-Thumann, who is mentioned in the same breath as female entrepreneurs such as Liz Mohn and Friede Springer, is a symbol of the supplier empire's rise and crises.
"The last three decades of my life have been marked by my commitment to the Schaeffler company and the large Schaeffler family. I will remain closely associated with the company as a shareholder in the future and am happy to leave an orderly house to the next generation," Schaeffler-Thumann said.
The Supervisory Board and management paid tribute to the lifetime achievements of the entrepreneur, who was born in Prague and grew up in Vienna. "My mother's tireless efforts through the ups and downs of the company were decisive in making Schaeffler one of the world's leading technology companies today, predominantly in family hands. We owe her an immense amount and wish her all the best," said her son and Supervisory Board Chairman Georg F.W. Schaeffler.
Former CDU politician Katherina Reiche is to take her place on the Supervisory Board. She is head of the energy supplier Westenergie and is considered a hydrogen expert. Hydrogen is one of Schaeffler's fields of the future.
Schaeffler-Thumann, who actually wanted to become a doctor, had moved from her place of study Vienna to Franconia after marrying her husband Georg Schaeffler. After the death of her husband in 1996 and the departure of their son to the U.S., the then 55-year-old suddenly found herself alone at the helm of a company that was turning over billions.
"Elegant in appearance, with a penchant for perfection, yet unusually strong-willed and determined not to show any weakness, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler made it clear from day one that she was up to the task," author and historian Gregor Schöllgen once judged.
"In addition to tireless diligence, brilliant perceptiveness, and iron discipline, management qualities include above all the talent to know one's own possibilities precisely. As well as their limits," wrote longtime companion Wolfgang Reitzle on his 80th birthday.
Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors Klaus Rosenfeld is also full of praise: "Mrs. Schaeffler-Thumann has played a key role in shaping the Schaeffler Group for 25 years. Under your aegis, the company has continuously expanded its market position, reinvented itself time and again, and courageously broken new ground," Rosenfeld once said of the shareholder.
However, Schaeffler-Thumann also stands for a tightrope act that could almost have ended in one of the most spectacular bankruptcies in the Federal Republic of Germany. Together with her son Georg, she took over the much larger automotive supplier Continental in 2008. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. Schaeffler and Conti were dragged together into the financial crisis this triggered. The German state did not want to step into the breach.
"You can't call for state aid in a mink coat," said Olaf Scholz, then labor minister and now chancellor. Schaeffler took the path without the state. An unusual pact with unions, employees and the banks - some of them in the vortex themselves - was to pave the way out of the crisis. In 2015, Schaeffler made the leap to the stock exchange. At Schaeffler-Thuman's departure, the supplier is in a dazzling position - despite far-reaching changes, especially in the automotive industry.
The matriarch has kept out of operational affairs for years. She has not been seen in Herzogenaurach for quite some time. Schaeffler-Thumann lives with her husband, former BDI President Jürgen Thumann, in Kitzbühel, Austria./dm/DP/nas
