Carl-Peter Forster

Carl-Peter Edmund Moriz Forster[1] (born 9 May 1954, in London), is a British businessman. Forster was the group Chief Executive of Tata Motors between January 2010[2] and 9 September 2011.[3]

Born in London, Forster was raised in London, Bonn and Athens. His father was a German diplomat. Forster holds degrees in Economics from Bonn University, and in Aviation and Space Technology from Technical University of Munich.

Career

On graduation in 1982, Forster joined McKinsey as a consultant in Munich.

BMW

In 1986, he joined BMW where he held various leadership positions before becoming managing director of BMW South Africa in 1996, and the board member responsible for all vehicle development projects in 1999.

General Motors

In April 2001, Forster was appointed chairman and managing director of Adam Opel AG. In June 2004 he became President of GM Europe, based in Zurich, Switzerland, and Chairman of the Opel Supervisory Board. In April 2005 he also became Chairman of Saab. On 1 January 2006, he was additionally appointed General Motors Group Vice President and a member of the GM Automotive Strategy Board, and took over the role as the senior-ranking executive for GM’s activities in Europe.[4]

On 3 November 2009 General Motors announced that it would retain ownership of its Opel subsidiary.[5] Forster commented about GM's decision not to sell the units to Magna International:[6]

Such a sudden shift isn't comprehensible. I hoped that it would have come to a much different outcome

On 6 November 2009 General Motors confirmed that Forster would be leaving all positions with GM Group globally.[4]

Tata Motors

On 15 February 2010 India's Tata Motors announced that Carl Peter Forster has been appointed as the group CEO with overall responsibility for Tata Motors globally, including that of its British unit Jaguar and Land Rover.[2]

Following a surprise announcement on Friday 9 September 2011 it was revealed that Carl-Peter would step down from his group CEO role due to 'unavoidable personal circumstances'. However, he remained on the Tata Motors board of directors in a non-Executive capacity.

Gordon Murray Design Limited

Ex-Tata group CEO joined Gordon Murray design house.[7]

Rexam

In June 2014 it was announced that Forster had been appointed a non-executive director of the UK packaging conglomerate Rexam.[8]

Personal life

Forster is married and has three children and lives in Oxford.

References

  1. ^ Stocks (11 December 2017). "Stocks". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Tata Motors - Media Centre". Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  3. ^ Jorn Madslien (9 September 2011). "Tata Motors chief Carl-Peter Forster resigns – BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  4. ^ a b GM: Forster To Leave Co; External Search For New Europe CEO
  5. ^ GM Throws Opel Deal Into Reverse
  6. ^ GM Europe president quits following Opel U-Turn
  7. ^ "Press - Carl-Peter Forster Joins Gordon Murray Design Limited". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013. Undated press release. Retrieved 27 September 2013
  8. ^ "Rexam announces Carl-Peter Forster to its Board as Non-Executive Director". Talent for boards. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2018.