Change of boss at KTM

Pierer steps down: “Perfect successor found”

Stefan Pierer retires completely from the Executive Board of KTM AG.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/EXPA, Markus Wenzel)

Will this be a retirement in installments? On January 23, it was announced that Stefan Pierer would be stepping into the second row at KTM AG and Pierer Mobility AG and would be acting as Co-CEO with immediate effect. On Tuesday it became official: as of March 4, the owner of the motorcycle manufacturer is stepping down completely from the KTM Executive Board. However, he will remain with Pierer Mobility AG.

On the evening before the second hearing in the course of the reorganization proceedings at the regional court in Ried im Innkreis, the following change at KTM AG and Pierer Mobility AG became known: Owner Stefan Pierer is giving up his job as CEO, handing over responsibility to Gottfried Neumeister, but Pierer will remain as co-CEO until the restructuring proceedings are completed.

One week after the restructuring plan of the motorcycle manufacturer, which had slipped into insolvency, had been approved and the creditors had accepted the 30 percent quota, an expected step has now been taken. As of today, Tuesday, Pierer is stepping down from the Executive Board of KTM AG. 

"I sincerely wish Gottfried Neumeister all the best. I have found the perfect successor in him," says the 68-year-old. He continues: "I am firmly convinced that he will lead the company successfully into the future." For Neumeister, it is "an honor and an obligation to continue the history of KTM": "I would like to thank Stefan Pierer for his trust in me to continue his life's work."

800 million euros necessary
Pierer will remain active as Co-CEO of Neumeister in Pierer Mobility AG. Pierer Mobility is the listed parent company of KTM. According to its own statements, the motorcycle manufacturer needs around 800 million euros for the restart. 600 million euros alone are needed to pay the 30 percent quota. In place of Stefan Pierer, Verena Schneglberger-Grossmann, head of the legal department, joins the Executive Board of KTM AG.